Consider the time and money you have spent keeping your herd healthy, add up the investment you have and the steps that you might take to prevent the introduction of disease. 

Diseases commonly come into herds with introduced livestock and once established, can have a major impact on the value of the herd, plus consume time, effort and money in control or eradication programs.

Farm biosecurity means keeping disease out and preventing the spread of disease from your herd to another herd.The risk of introducing a disease when buying livestock can be minimised by obtaining a good history of the animals from the vendor before purchase. At a minimum a buyer should ask if the herd was bred by the vendor and request a declaration about the disease status of the properties where the livestock have been kept.

A quarantine period in a designated area can be a practical way of restricting the possible introduction of diseases and weeds and can give the buyer the opportunity to examine for disease and external parasites.

Maintaining fences is essential in preventing the introduction of stray livestock from neighbouring farms.