Biosecurity and hygiene in pig farms: current status and impact on technical and economic performances

An inventory for the application of biosecurity measures was carried out in 77 breeder-finisher herds and the relationship between levels of biosecurity in farms and their technical and economic performances were evaluated. This was based on detailed questionnaires about the evaluation of biosecurity. Different biosecurity scores were calculated: scores of total biosecurity, external biosecurity and internal biosecurity. For each of these scores, the effect of the biosecurity level on performances (standardized margin) was studied, analysing variances.A number of biosecurity recommendations are still not widespread on farms. The difference of standardized margins between farms with high biosecurity levels and those with lower levels is estimated at around 200 €/sow/year. This study underlines the importance of biosecurity to optimise production costs.