A biosecurity survey on Iberian pig farms in Spain: Farmers' attitudes towards the implementation of measures and investment

The Iberian pork industry has proven to be very important in South-Western Europe, not only due its contribution to the economy of the area, but also because of the peculiarities of the farms situated there. These farms raise Iberian pigs in systems ranging from fully outdoor rearing systems to intensive-rearing farms similar to the conventional pig production models. The implementation of biosecurity measures in Iberian pig farms can be complex and, at times, it can be perceived somewhat negatively by farmers, especially those who run more extensive pig production systems. This research attempts to understand the attitudes of Iberian pig farmers in the South-West of Spain towards the adoption of and investment in biosecurity measures. For that purpose, data obtained from 104 online surveys taken by Iberian pig farmers in 2019 was analysed. A correspondence and a cluster analysis were performed, whereby three farm groups were identified according to their features (land area, breeding conditions, availability of facilities, etc.), the existence/use of biosecurity facilities and the adoption of biosecurity measures. The results have shown that most of the analysed farms have the necessary infrastructure to comply with the biosecurity principles and farmers perform basic biosecurity practices. However, farms that are more extensive, mainly those finishing their pigs outdoors (acorn-feed), need to improve their biosecurity. It is necessary therefore to implement an improvement plan following the current regulations in collaboration with policy makers with the purpose of improving the levels of biosecurity and increase disease risk awareness.