Livestock Biosecurity Requirements in Maryland Every Producer Should Know

Maryland livestock producers face one of the most complex biosecurity environments on the East Coast. The state’s dense mix of commercial poultry operations, dairy herds, and small ruminant farms — many of them sharing pasture and equipment — creates conditions where a single gap in your biosecurity protocol can trigger rapid, costly disease spread across multiple species and neighboring premises.

Understanding your obligations under Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) rules is not optional. Whether you raise cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, or poultry, you are subject to a layered set of state and federal requirements covering everything from how you identify your premises to how you dispose of carcasses. This guide walks you through each requirement so you can build a compliant, effective program on your farm.

What Is Livestock Biosecurity and Why It Matters in Maryland

Biosecurity is a series of management practices designed to prevent the introduction, delivery, and spread of disease pathogens that can harm or adversely affect livestock, crops, environments, and people. These practices may also help eliminate or control diseases already existing on the premises. For Maryland producers, that definition carries real financial weight.

With recent detections of avian influenza affecting not only poultry but also goats on mixed-species farms, biosecurity must be a top priority for all livestock producers. When animals share the same pasture, water, or environment, the risk of disease transmission increases significantly, especially for young, more vulnerable animals. This underscores the critical need for proactive biosecurity practices across poultry, sheep, goats, and other livestock systems.

A USDA-NIFA grant-funded project at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore aims to improve biosecurity preparedness among beginning and small-scale mixed-species producers, with avian influenza becoming a growing concern for poultry producers on the Eastern Shore as recent cases have been identified in Wicomico and Caroline counties. This regional pressure makes compliance a practical necessity, not just a regulatory formality.

Biosecurity practices and procedures reduce transmission of disease-causing organisms between and within farms. A biosecurity plan can protect your farm from external pathogens and minimize the transmission of diseases within your system. In Maryland, the MDA Animal Health Program enforces these standards and has the authority to inspect your operation during normal working hours.

Premises Registration and Identification Requirements in Maryland

Before you can move animals, participate in exhibitions, or access many MDA disease-response programs, your farm must be officially registered. Maryland operates a premises identification system that links your physical location to your herd or flock for disease traceability purposes.

You can use the MDA’s Premises Registration Form to acquire a new premises identification number, or contact the Animal Health Program directly at 410-841-5810. This number becomes your farm’s unique identifier in state and federal disease-tracking databases and is required any time you move regulated animals across county or state lines.

Any person with poultry in Maryland must register their birds with the Maryland Department of Agriculture. The critical information collected with the Maryland Poultry Premises Registration Form provides animal health officials with necessary contact information in case of an animal health concern and helps identify at-risk animals and premises. All information collected remains confidential.

For small ruminant producers, individual animal identification is equally mandatory. Scrapie tags are required for all sheep and goats leaving the farm. Scrapie identification is mandatory for all goats in Maryland; according to the MDA’s animal health regulations for small ruminants, all goats must be officially scrapie-identified.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is responsible for a number of laws and regulations relating to environmental and consumer protection as well as the promotion of agriculture. Maryland State laws that apply to the department are found in the Agriculture Article, and applicable regulations are codified in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) under Title 15. Familiarizing yourself with the relevant COMAR sections for your species is the first step toward full compliance. You can also review livestock disease reporting requirements that pair directly with premises registration obligations.

Biosecurity Plan Requirements in Maryland

Maryland does not require every livestock producer to file a formal written biosecurity plan with the state under a single universal mandate. However, several MDA orders and program requirements — particularly for poultry operations and dairy herds — effectively make a documented plan a compliance expectation. More importantly, having a written plan is your strongest protection during an MDA inspection.

Producers should develop and implement a biosecurity plan and complete a regular review of their farm’s biosecurity practices that focus both on cattle and human health and safety. Proactive implementation of biosecurity measures could reduce the risk of a disease outbreak in your herd, along with its negative economic impact, and protect animal agriculture in the state.

Your plan should address both external and internal biosecurity. External biosecurity refers to procedures and practices that reduce the transmission of pathogens from sources off your farm, including the management of routine visitors such as the milk truck, feed deliveries, custom harvesters, and borrowed equipment, as well as the management of bought or leased animals. Internal biosecurity refers to procedures and practices on the farm to prevent transmission of pathogens between areas of your farm. Most harmful diseases within a farm transfer from older animals to younger animals — an example of an internal biosecurity practice is washing boots before entering the calf barn or having an entirely different set of clothes for working with calves.

A practical plan does not need to be lengthy. Your plan doesn’t have to be lengthy — even a couple of pages of well-thought-out points can cover a lot. The key is that it’s specific to your farm and practical to follow. At minimum, your written plan should cover animal movement quarantine procedures, visitor and vehicle access protocols, cleaning and disinfection schedules, feed and water security, and your emergency contact chain for the MDA Animal Health Program.

Maintain up-to-date, accurate records for animal health, including vaccination, antimicrobial treatment, surgical procedures, feed delivery, and cattle transportation. These records serve as your documentation trail during any MDA inspection or disease investigation. Producers raising multiple species can also benefit from resources on livestock disease reporting practices used in neighboring states to benchmark their own record-keeping systems.

Animal Isolation and Movement Control Requirements in Maryland

Controlling how animals enter and move through your operation is the single most effective disease prevention tool available to you. Keeping infected animals and contaminated material away from uninfected animals is the most important and effective part of biosecurity. Maryland’s MDA has issued specific guidance on isolation timelines that all producers should treat as binding best practice.

Cattle owners should minimize animal movements and isolate sick cattle. New animals should be quarantined for a minimum of two weeks before introducing them to an established herd. For sheep and goats, federal USDA APHIS guidance reinforces this standard. If maintaining a closed flock is not possible, only purchase animals that appear healthy and have been inspected by a veterinarian within the last 30 days, and keep them separate from your flock for at least 30 days.

During the isolation period, strict separation protocols apply:

• New stock should have no nose-to-nose contact with your resident herd and ideally separate water and feed.
• Do not cross-use shovels, feed buckets, brushes, or other equipment between the isolated animal and other livestock.
• Ensure workers clean their hands and boots and change clothes prior to entering other areas.
• Observe animals daily for clinical signs of illness and document your observations.

Interstate movement into Maryland carries additional requirements. The Maryland Department of Agriculture has placed restrictions on cattle movement and transportation in order to prevent disease from spreading into the state. For goats being imported into Maryland from out-of-state, animals must originate from a flock in a scrapie-consistent state or from a flock enrolled in the Scrapie Flock Certification Program. Always verify current import requirements with the MDA Animal Health Program before bringing any animal into the state, as orders can change rapidly during active disease events.

If you transport animals in your own trailer, cleaning and disinfection of the trailer between hauls is a core movement control measure. Producers can review livestock trailer requirements in Pennsylvania for a neighboring state comparison, as interstate haulers often cross both sets of rules.

Visitor, Vehicle, and Equipment Sanitation Rules in Maryland

Every person and vehicle that enters your property is a potential disease vector. Maryland MDA guidance treats visitor and vehicle management as a non-negotiable component of farm biosecurity, particularly for poultry and dairy operations subject to active MDA oversight.

Restrict access to poultry and livestock by posting “Restricted Access” signage, securing the area with a gate, or both. Take steps to ensure that contaminated materials on the ground are not transported into the poultry growing house or livestock area. This applies to all visitors — including veterinarians, feed delivery drivers, equipment dealers, and neighbors.

For anyone entering animal areas, the MDA minimum guidelines require providing:

• Footbaths and foot mats with disinfectant solution at entry and exit points
• A boot washing and disinfectant station
• Footwear change or foot covers for all personnel entering livestock areas
• PPE including coveralls, hair nets, and masks for higher-risk entry situations

For disinfectant selection, MDA guidance is specific. A bleach-and-water mixture — 4 oz bleach per gallon of water — is an adequate, inexpensive disinfectant for boots and equipment. For vehicle tires and larger surfaces, a sprayer with the same bleach mixture or an equivalent commercial disinfectant is recommended.

Vehicle management deserves particular attention. If you have been on other poultry farms or other places where there is livestock and/or poultry, and you have to drive onto the farm, clean and disinfect your vehicle tires and equipment before entering another farm or returning home. Always remember that vehicles are as much a risk for spreading disease pathogens as people are.

Keep facilities well maintained and in good repair, and maintain up-to-date, accurate records for animal health, feed delivery, and cattle transportation. MDA inspectors reviewing your biosecurity practices will look for both physical infrastructure and documentation. You can also review how livestock disease reporting in Colorado handles vehicle and visitor logging as a model for your own record-keeping approach.

Wildlife and Pest Control Obligations in Maryland

Wild birds, rodents, and other wildlife are among the most significant disease vectors for Maryland livestock operations. Migratory waterfowl moving through Maryland present a heightened risk for HPAI. HPAI is caused by an influenza type A virus, which can infect poultry — chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quails, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl — and is carried by free-flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese, and shorebirds.

Your wildlife and pest control obligations under MDA guidance include the following:

1. Secure all feed storage. Cover and secure feed to prevent wild birds, rodents, or other animals from accessing it. Use sealed containers or covered bins and inspect them regularly for signs of rodent intrusion.
2. Contain organic waste. Cover and properly contain carcasses, used litter, or other disease-containing organic materials to prevent wild birds, rodents, or other animals from accessing them and to keep them from being blown around by wind.
3. Limit cross-species contact. To the extent possible, prevent contact between your animals and poultry, pets, wildlife — particularly ruminants and waterfowl — and rodents. If this is not practical, it is important to prevent the use of feed and water sources for your sheep and goats by these other animals.
4. Sanitize water receptacles regularly. Feed and water receptacles should be cleaned and disinfected on a frequent basis. Use insect control measures, as these pests can transmit pathogens.

Maryland is home to many mixed-species farms, and the MDA urges farmers to be mindful of commingling poultry with dairy cattle and to increase biosecurity measures on all farms with poultry or dairy cattle. On mixed-species operations, maintaining physical barriers between species — separate pastures, separate feeding areas, separate water sources — is a core wildlife and pest control strategy, not just an animal husbandry preference.

The MDA has recommended, where possible, maintaining poultry indoors during periods of heightened risk from migratory waterfowl activity. This recommendation typically applies during fall and spring migration seasons. Monitor MDA press releases and the Animal Health Program website for seasonal risk advisories.

Livestock guardian animals can play a supplemental role in deterring wildlife intrusion. Learn more about how livestock guardian dogs can support your perimeter biosecurity alongside physical fencing and pest management programs.

Dead Animal Disposal Requirements in Maryland

Proper carcass disposal is both a biosecurity requirement and a legal obligation in Maryland. Leaving dead animals exposed on your property creates immediate disease risk — wild birds, rodents, and scavengers can spread pathogens from a carcass across a wide area within hours. Maryland law and MDA regulations establish clear disposal obligations for all livestock producers.

Under Maryland Agriculture Article § 3-109, owners are required to bury or burn animals dying of contagious or infectious disease. More broadly, it is unlawful for the owner or guardian of any animal to deposit or leave such animal, upon its death, on public property or on the property of another person without permission. All such dead animals shall be promptly disposed of by cremation, burial, or other sanitary means.

Maryland producers have several approved disposal options:

The MDA also specifies that any animal that died of an infectious or reportable disease must be handled according to guidance from Animal Health Officials. If you suspect a reportable disease caused the death, do not dispose of the carcass until you have contacted the MDA Animal Health Program. Premature disposal can destroy critical diagnostic evidence and may constitute a regulatory violation.

Carcass containment prior to disposal is equally important. Cover and properly contain carcasses, used litter, or other disease-containing organic materials to prevent wild birds, rodents, or other animals from accessing them and to keep them from being blown around by wind. Even a short delay between death and disposal requires secure interim containment. Producers managing disease reporting obligations alongside disposal requirements can review how neighboring states handle these paired obligations, including livestock disease reporting in Michigan and livestock disease reporting in Illinois, to understand the broader regional compliance landscape.

Staying current with MDA guidance is your best compliance strategy. The MDA Animal Health Program updates its orders and advisories regularly — particularly during active disease events — and allows MDA to enter the premises during normal working hours to inspect your biosecurity and sanitation practices. Building a documented, consistent biosecurity program now means fewer disruptions and better outcomes when inspectors or disease events arrive.