Start 2026 with a biosecurity plan

If you don’t have a biosecurity plan or if you have one that's overdue for a review, we’d encourage you to consider a written plan that identifies biosecurity threats and puts in place practical and effective everyday practices to manage these risks on the farm.

No two farms are the same, so your plan should be designed for your property, operation, and the surrounding environment. Then by reviewing and updating it regularly, your plan can be adapted for any emerging threats, changing farm or seasonal conditions, and incorporated lessons learned from incidents or monitoring.

A sound biosecurity plan increases a farm’s protection from pests and diseases like TB and M. bovis, and the good practices put in place don’t need to cost a lot of money - provided they’re clear and easy to follow. 

Some simple practices which you could consider adopting include operating closed herds, buying livestock from known and trusted suppliers, fencing safeguards to minimise nose-to-nose contact with neighbouring cattle, having one clear entry point, displaying biosecurity signage, using a visitor sign-in form, and setting rules for visitors.

A recent OSPRI survey found that about one in three dairy or commercial beef farmers reported having a biosecurity plan or were working on one.  

If you are thinking about starting or refreshing your biosecurity plan, check out these online resources put together by DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand. It includes helpful guides, templates as well as visitor signs for download.

DairyNZ

• Biosecurity visitor management plan
• Biosecurity farm plan
• How to clean and disinfect footwear on farm
• Biosecurity pre-purchase fillable checklist
• Biosecurity visitor sign (A4 version)
• Biosecurity visitor sign (A3 version)
• Evaluating biosecurity risks

Beef + Lamb New Zealand

• Biosecurity planning
• Biosecurity Farm Plan
• Drystock Biosecurity Guidelines
• Biosecurity wof checklist