Salmonella infection can cause significant financial losses on livestock farms. The total cost of renovations has risen as there have been more cases than before, and on larger farms. In the pig sector, for which the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is preparing a state salmonella fund, the situation has been worrying for some time, insurance premiums have risen, and group insurance policies have been terminated. Salmonella infections have also been increasingly common on cattle and poultry farms. Structural changes in agriculture have led to a decline in the number of cattle and poultry farms and an increase in their average size. This has had an impact on the occurrence of infections, the practical implementation of restructuring, and costs.
The aim of the project is to investigate the nature of salmonella damage in the cattle and poultry sectors and how the economic risks could be better managed. The project will investigate the extent and distribution of salmonella damage on different types of farms, the cost structure and level of salmonella damage, analyze the effectiveness of insurance coverage and possible future insurance, fund, and state aid options, and produce guidelines for veterinarians on cost-effective salmonella remediation on poultry farms. The project will also produce information on salmonella damage and a simulation model that can be used to track the accumulation of salmonella costs and their variation in different insurance, fund, and support scenarios.
