Canadian Beef Cattle On-Farm Biosecurity Standard

Appendix 2: Developing the Standard

The Standard was developed over the course of two years. During this time frame, a biosecurity standard for Canada's beef cattle industry was analyzed, using a range of tools, summarized together with the following key findings:

• Review of cost-benefit considerations:
  • Whether in Canada or abroad, the data simply are not available for evidence-based, quantitative, cost-benefit analysis of a collection of practices, such as this Standard, notwithstanding some limited analysis of individual and disease-specific practices.
  • Accordingly, this Standard was designed first to be "low cost," and second to have a readily apparent capacity to reduce disease at both the farm and national herd level.
  • From this qualitative perspective, this Standard is favourable from a cost-benefit consideration.
• Gap analysis:
  • Existing national, non-government programs were evaluated for their alignment with biosecurity and future voluntary programming in support of the Standard.
  • There are opportunities to support the Standard from existing programs, though none are fully aligned at present.
• Literature review and identification of cited practices:
  • A review of published and unpublished literature supported most of the analysis noted elsewhere in this section, leading to a list of practices cited as having positive impacts on disease in cattle. A number of informal standards – collections of practices – were also identified and reviewed.
  • In the context of Canada's national beef cattle industry, a biosecurity standard does not exist, although a considerable amount of background information was obtained.
• National consultation to identify current biosecurity practices in Canada's beef cattle industry:
  • An understanding of animal health and biosecurity practices current in Canada's beef cattle industry was established in an on-farm, in-person benchmarking study of a producer sample representative of the geography, size, and operational-type distributions occurring in the population.
  • This benchmarking of current practices helped in designing a Standard specifically for the beef cattle industry that is both practical and effective.
• National consultation on a draft Standard:
  • A complete draft of the Standard, resulting from revisions suggested by the Advisory and Management Groups, was reviewed in stakeholder consultations held across the country. Some 13 meetings were held with a cross-section of stakeholder representatives and others engaged in the beef cattle industry.
  • The draft was considered an acceptable basis upon which to prepare a final Standard.

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