A
disease outbreak, can be devastating to any animal agriculture industry. Biosecurity,
the process and steps taken to prevent and reduce the spread of infectious
disease, is vital for continued productive and fiscal success of agricultural businesses.
There are multiple pathways an infectious disease can be spread. Awareness of, development and implementation of biosecurity is essential to managing disease risk in animal agriculture.
We created and delivered educational programming for nine livestock species popular in Minnesota 4-H programming. University of Minnesota's Biosecurity Entry Education Trailer (BEET) was transformed to be an on-site representation of animal facilities in the upper Midwest. Each
workshop was 50-60 minutes with half being lecture style, and the second half inside the BEET for a
hands-on learning experience. At the end of each workshop, participants were given a "biosecurity starter kit" to get started at home.
More than 550 Minnesota youth participated in one of 18 workshops between June 2018 and June 2019. Program day and follow-up evaluations were utilized to gauge learning gains, knowledge retention and long-range impact of the programs.
After 6-months, 63% of the participants indicated they had implemented two or more new
biosecurity practices at home or at shows as a result of the workshop.
Youth that participated in these programs can expect to see increased herd and flock health as a result of their new knowledge.