Issue #7

Emergency Readiness (Homeland Security)

Problem, Opportunity Statement

Every year Pennsylvania citizens and agricultural producers experience natural or man- made disasters. While many communities have emergency plans to deal with both natural and some man-made emergencies, the state of preparedness to help rural communities and agricultural industries, including producers, processors, suppliers and related aspects of agricultural industries is weak and only now being developed.

Cooperative Extension staff possesses wide-ranging skills, knowledge and abilities in agriculture, community development, and family strengths and youth subject matter. When these resources are harnessed to work collaboratively with local, regional and state response agencies, disaster preparedness, resilience and speed of recovery of Pennsylvania farms, communities and businesses following disasters will be greatly enhanced. Programs to increase awareness, assess vulnerabilities, and then identify the resources and strategies to address potential problems are stages of preparedness that can help citizens and especially the agricultural sector deal with emergency situations.

Through interagency training, exercising mock disaster plans, workshops, evaluation and addressing deficiencies identified during the drills, extension staff, local responders and the agricultural community develop skills to deal with the “unimaginable” scenarios. In the past three years, three separate domestic terrorist attacks against agricultural producers have occurred in the Northeastern U.S. The perceived issue of agricultural terrorism has gone from something theoretical to being a reality.¹ Training extension staff through awareness, knowledge and exercises in which they practice and refine their roles and responsibilities in a variety of disasters scenarios, builds staff knowledge, skills and confidence. This improved skill set will allow extension personnel to become more effective and efficient in collaborative efforts related to agricultural specific events.

Local and state extension staff with subject matter knowledge specific to agriculture, food and water issues such as biosecurity, diagnostics, prevention, control and recovery of physical, psychological and economic impacts of plant, animal, food, water and natural resource disasters positions Penn State Cooperative Extension as a critical player to help deal with emergency preparedness issues within the Commonwealth. Extension educators who instruct producers, agricultural professionals, agency staff and community leaders in the concepts of planning, farm biosecurity, diagnostics and where to seek assistance in those communities builds resilience. This emerging theatre of issues for extension can provide methods to mitigate, reduce or even eliminate the impact of physical threats to the Commonwealth. This increased resiliency, which will ensure and expand the economic and physical survival of agricultural enterprises and communities, is totally in keeping with the mission and mandate of Penn State Cooperative Extension.

 ^1. Individual communication from the Northeast Counterterrorism Taskforce. Oct. 2002. 

Subject Matter Areas

·        Risk Assessment and preparedness for natural and man made disasters

o       Public Health

o       Animal Health

o       Plant Health

o       Forest Resources

Program Titles and/or Topics

·        Agriculture Production Security

o       Animal

§         Foreign Animal Diseases

§         Regulatory Diseases

§         Production Limiting Diseases

§         On Farm Food Safety

§         Animal Welfare Concerns

§         Residues and marketing

§         Feeds and forage quality

§         Natural Disasters

§         Intentional Introduction of Disease

o       Plant

§         Foreign Plant Diseases

§         Regulatory Diseases

§         Production Limiting Diseases

§         On Farm Food Safety and Toxins

§         Residues and marketing

§         Chemicals and sprays

§         Natural Disasters

§         Intentional Introduction of Disease

o       Facilities

·        Food Safety/Security

o       Producers

§         Biosecurity Programs

§         Biocontainment Programs

§         Eradication Programs

§         On Farm Food Safety

§         Man Made Disasters

§         Criminal Activity

o       Processors

§         On Farm Food Safety

§         Residues (biological and/or chemical) and Marketing

§         Supply and Restrictions due to Quarantine/Control Programs

§         Zoonotic Diseases and Natural Toxins

§         Worker Safety and Exposure

o       Consumers

§         Residues (biological and/or chemical)

§         Marketing

§         Animal Welfare

§         Zoonotic Diseases and Natural Toxins

§         Importation and Transportation

·        Public Health/Animal Health

o       Zoonotic Diseases

§         Foreign Animal Diseases

§         Control and Regulatory Issues

§         First Responder

§         Rural Health/Public Health Providers

§         Spread to or from Wildlife

§         Disposal

§         Intentional Introduction

o       Toxins from Plants

§         Foreign Plant Diseases

§         Control and Regulatory Issues

§         Feed value and diversion to livestock

§         Human and/or Animal Health

§         Rural Health/Public Health Providers

§         Disposal

§         Intentional Introduction

o       Other Toxins

§         Unusual or Extreme Weather/Storage Conditions

§         Natural or Man Made Disasters

§         Hazardous Materials

o       Regional Response and Emergency Teams

§         Regional Resources and Stockpiles

§         Regional Training and Response Teams

§         Regional Development and Restoration Teams

§         Psychological and Economic Impacts

·        Biosecurity of Natural Resources

o       Wildlife

§         Pathogens to and from domestic animals

§         Zoonotic Reservoir/Amplification

§         Control and Regulatory Issues

§         Exotic Species

o       Water Quality  

§         Toxins, Biological, and Hazardous Materials

§         Effect on Domestic, Wildlife and Plant Species

§         Availability in Natural and Man Made Disasters

o       Forest Resources

§         Toxins and Biological Contamination

§         Exotic Species

§         Natural and Man Made Disasters

§         Local Environment and Economy

o       Air Quality

§         Toxins and Biological Contamination

§         Animal and Plant Health

§         Control and Clean-up Programs

Indicators

·        Number of risk assessments completed.

·        Number of plans written.

·        Number of people trained.

·        Number of drills completed.

·        Number of facilities that have identified necessary equipment and resources.

·        Number of facilities that have acquired necessary equipment and resources.

·        Number of public and private sector groups that have disaster infrastructure and plans in place.

·        Number of interagency/cooperative plans reviewed and revised to eliminate duplication.

·        Number of concise and up to date contact and information sources identified.