Farm characteristics and perceptions regarding costs contribute to the adoption of biosecurity in Finnish pig and cattle farms

Abstract

The goal of this study was to estimate how the perceived costs of biosecurity measures and the characteristics of the farm and the producer influence the adoption of four biosecurity measures: (1) the use of protective clothing when entering an animal shelter and (2) the use of protective shoes when entering an animal shelter, (3) the verification of the health status of animals coming to the farm, and (4) the use of a carcass container to temporarily store dead animals at the farm. Questionnaire data from 852 Finnish livestock farms were analysed by a logistic regression model. The higher the producers perceived the cost of the biosecurity measure the less likely they were to adopt that measure. However, this response was inelastic. The results suggest that the use of biosecurity could be promoted by providing producers with economic incentives to follow stricter biosecurity policy. University education and the producer’s activity to maintain his/her professional knowledge had a positive effect on the adoption of biosecurity measures. Also factors such as the producer’s gender, farm size and production type contributed significantly to the adoption of biosecurity measures. The ongoing structural change in the livestock sector likely increases the use of biosecurity measures as larger farms were more likely to adopt biosecurity measures.