Bio-Security
History
Due to Melhorn’s early experience in breeders, hatchery operations, and chick sales, bio-security has been a priority from day one. John Melhorn was forced to understand the importance of disease control with his own breeder flock, and felt the responsibility to ensure that every customer he worked for received the same protections that he had in place for his own live bird investment. This beginning to the company has set the precedent for Melhorn and all of its sister company’s to prioritize bio-security.
During the Avian Influenza outbreak in Pennsylvania in the early 1980’s it was recommended to Melhorn by the USDA that all clean equipment being used to haul pullets in the future be stored inside. We have taken this seriously, and today with the locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, Melhorn has its clean pullet equipment parked inside.
As our bio-security policies have evolved, and as customers have requested different measures to protect their flocks, we have taken the stance that if we are doing a task for one customer to protect their flock, we need to be doing it for every customer. It is quite easy to say that you take bio-security seriously, and quite difficult to actually follow through with this commitment. In order to ensure that a company’s culture prioritizes bio-security, it must be done for every customer, every day.
If you would like a tour of our facilities, please reach out to us and we will be happy to show you around.
Truck Washing
Every truck is washed and disinfected after every job. We utilize a custom built three stage automatic cart wash to clean and disinfect our carts. After carts are removed from our trailers our wash crew applies insecticide then thoroughly washes and disinfects the rest of the truck and trailer before moving the truck to the clean side of our wash. Once the clean truck enters the clean side of our wash facility our crew then reloads the sanitized and inspected carts. This process allows us to have a clear line of separation between our clean and dirty areas of our wash.
Van Cleaning
Every crew van is cleaned inside and out after every job. After the exterior of the vans are cleaned, interiors are whipped down, disinfected, and treated with insecticide. As a second line of precaution every van is equipped with an onboard disinfectant application system that our drivers use upon arriving at the farm.
Indoor Storage
At both the PA and OH locations our pullet trailers are staged outside before being washed. After going through our wash system our trailers are all stored inside until the next job.
Shower Facility
While prioritizing bio-security and dealing with bed bug and Coryza concerns, it became apparent to Melhorn in 2020 that showering its employees who encounter live poultry everyday was critical. The goal was to have all poultry handling crews and truck drivers shower before and after each job to ensure that disease and insects are not being spread back and forth between our customers via our employees. In November of 2020, Melhorn began to erect an 8 stall shower facility. In February of 2021, this project was completed, and our employees who encounter live poultry began to shower before and after each job.