Visitor and Contractor Control Register

Why You Need a Visitor Register

When FMD or another listed disease appears in a farming community, the State Veterinarian's first action is contact tracing: identifying which farms may have been exposed, through which people, vehicles, or animals.

If you cannot answer "who was on your property and when?", the authorities must treat your farm as a potential source or exposure point — which typically means broader movement restrictions while the investigation continues. A complete, accurate visitor register can:

• Demonstrate that your farm operated with documented biosecurity discipline
• Help trace the source of a disease introduction if your herd is affected
• Protect neighbouring farms by enabling faster contact tracing
• Satisfy any legal requirement to produce records during an investigation

What to Record for Every Visitor

Capture the following for every person who enters the farm — including family members, neighbours, and regular service providers:

• Full name
• ID number or driver's licence number
• Contact phone number
• Vehicle registration number
• Organisation or employer (for contractors, service providers, and sales representatives)
• Purpose of visit
• Areas of the farm accessed
• Any recent visits to other livestock farms (within 48–72 hours)
• Entry date and time
• Exit time
• Disinfection completed (Y/N)
• Gate operator's initials or signature

Higher-Risk Visitor Categories

Not all visitors carry the same biosecurity risk. The following categories warrant additional scrutiny and, where possible, restricted access to animal contact zones:

Feed and Bedding Delivery Drivers

Feed trucks, grain transporters, and bedding suppliers typically visit multiple farms per day. They are among the highest-risk vectors for disease movement. Vehicle disinfection is essential for every delivery. Request and file the supplier's biosecurity declaration where possible.

Animal Transport Vehicles

Livestock trucks, game transport, and auction vehicles carry the highest biological risk. These vehicles must be thoroughly disinfected and the driver must not have contact with your livestock without a full biosecurity check. Request a cleaning and disinfection certificate where available.

Veterinarians and Animal Health Technicians

Veterinarians and their assistants visit multiple farms by definition. Apply the same entry control procedures — they will understand and expect it. Ensure their equipment (kits, instruments, PPE) is noted in the register.

Contractors and Maintenance Personnel

Fencing, irrigation, and general maintenance contractors may bring machinery and equipment that has been on other properties. Log all equipment entering the farm alongside the person record.

Buyers, Agents, and Inspectors

Agricultural buyers, assessors, and government inspectors may come from a variety of farm environments. Record them fully and restrict movement to the necessary areas for their assessment.

Where to Keep the Register

The register must be at the gate, not in the farm office or homestead. The person controlling access must be able to record each visitor at the point of entry — not from memory later in the day.

• Use a clipboard at the gatehouse or boom control point
• Keep spare register sheets at the gate so running out is never an excuse for incomplete records
• Protect paper registers from rain with a weather cover or in a sealed clipboard folder
• Back up paper registers weekly — photograph or scan each page and file digitally

How Long to Keep Records

Keep physical visitor registers for a minimum of 6 months. During declared controlled area periods, check with your State Veterinarian whether longer retention is required — some disease investigations extend beyond this period.

Digital backups should be stored separately from physical records so that loss or damage to one does not destroy the record.

Contractor-Specific Requirements

For contractors — particularly those working with or near animals — consider implementing a signed entry declaration. This:

• Makes the farm's biosecurity rules explicit and understood before work begins
• Creates a signed record that the contractor acknowledged their obligations
• Is particularly useful for contractors who return regularly and whose compliance may otherwise become casual over time

A short contractor declaration covers: confirmation of no livestock contact on other farms in the past 48 hours, agreement to follow the farm's entry and movement protocols, and agreement to notify the farm manager of any health concerns observed during work.

Making the System Work in Practice

The most common reason visitor registers fail is practical friction — forms not at the gate, pens that don't work, or operators who feel awkward asking regular visitors to sign in. Remove the friction:

• Print clearly formatted register sheets in advance — never rely on blank paper or improvised records
• Laminate a brief "what we need" instruction card at the gate so operators have a reference
• Brief all gate operators on why the register matters and give them language for explaining it to visitors
• Make the register the first step of entry — not an optional extra after the gate is already open

Also see: Farm Gate Biosecurity Checklist | Vehicle & Equipment Disinfection | FMD Biosecurity in South Africa