USDA ARS Post Symposium Professional Development Courses

Adrian Self, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

David Hogg, MS, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

The course will focus on the best practices and safety issues associated with an agriculture emergency, including: quarantines, biosecurity, euthanasia, disposal, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and cleaning and disinfection. The course will help increase knowledge of coordination efforts needed for responding to an agricultural emergency across jurisdictions, lines of authority, and disciplines by examining the integration of response efforts.

Objectives:

• Define agriculture emergency and recognize vulnerabilities of agricultural systems
• Recognize the various groups, authorities, and jurisdictions that will play major roles in a foreign animal disease event
• Identify steps to determine the presence of disease, process of diagnostics and surveillance, and the need for deployment of personnel
• Discuss the roles of Incident Command and Unified Command
• Restate the importance of continuity of business planning within a control zone
• Suggested Background: Responders with some knowledge level of incident response, but limited to
  no knowledge of agricultural practices

Miguel Grimaldo, University of Texas Medical Branch—Galveston, Galveston, TX

Operations of High-Containment facilities require proper planning, installation, maintenance, auditing, and training. When funding is limited and needs are enormous, developing a facility operations risk analysis could let the institution focus on priority items. The first part of the class will discuss the elements to develop a risk analysis utilizing ISO 31000 Risk Management Standard. Part two will carry out hands-on activities to develop a risk analysis example.

Objectives:

• Describe the Risk Management Process
• Restate the difference between Risk Identifications and Risk Management
• Create awareness for the need of Facility Operations Risk Analysis

Stephen Goldsmith, DVM, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC

Joanna Davis, DVM, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Tifton, GA

Robert Ellis, PhD, CBSP(ABSA), Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

Agriculture Biosecurity will begin with a description of the unique management practices and the challenges of open range ranching in the mountain west. The course will continue with an introduction of the concepts agro- and bioterrorism. To mitigate the effects of a terror attack or criminal act, this course will introduce animal and plant health experts to joint epidemiological and criminal investigations alongside law enforcement. Doing so could lead to a more rapid and efficient recognition, detection, and response to unusual zoonotic, emerging, and transboundary disease outbreaks in both animals and plants.

Objectives:

• Recognize the management and challenges of open range ranching
• Summarize the risks to animal and plant health by agroterrorists and criminal actors
• Describe the tools for agriculturists to use to engage law enforcement for mitigating and responding to terroristic or criminal threats toward animal and plant targets

Joelle Hayden, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Riverdale, MD

Did you know that the rules for effectively communicating information in a high-concern situation are different? If you regularly need to communicate information that is highly technical, controversial, regulatory or about a high-concern topic, this training is for you! You will learn how to communicate effectively with stakeholders, the public, and other audiences to help them understand your message. The course includes an overview of risk communication theory, message mapping, and team exercises to address realistic communication scenarios.

Objectives:

• Explain the four theories associated with risk communications, including how to adjust communications to combat each theory
• Use the risk communications concepts and message mapping to develop strong messages on a high-concern topic
• Implement the message mapping process into their work routine

Doug Meckes, DVM, North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, NC

Jack Shere, PhD, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Riverdale, MD

Michael Martin, BS, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

This course will provide an overview of preparedness and response activities to animal diseases and natural disasters at the state level. Prior to the 2020 hurricane season, North Carolina (NC) experienced 3 hurricanes in 3 years, none this year thank goodness, and in the response to those hurricanes, NC has managed the animal agriculture mortality through composting. In doing so, NC has effectively prevented environmental impacts and public health implications potentially associated with loss of poultry throughout Eastern NC. From those experiences, the NC response team has moved forward with additional efforts to compost other animal agriculture species. There will also be an update on NC’s experiences with the use of the CO2 depopulation containers designed and built here in the state to manage overstocked pigs and hogs in response to compromise of swine processing plants. There will also be a presentation on the federal response and coordination in a Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) outbreak in the United States. How Aphis coordinated a myriad of aspects of a disease outbreak with the states and other federal agencies. This will enable emergency managers to understand the flow of operations and policy that occur during a foreign animal disease outbreak and where their collaboration and coordination is needed.

Objectives:

• Restate the management needed for natural disasters with animal agriculture implications
• Describe effective composting techniques for both poultry and livestock
• Restate CO2 depopulation to humanely, effectively, and efficiently depopulate livestock
• Identify the flow of operations in an FAD from start to finish
• Recall how their programs or state agencies are incorporated into an FAD response
• Summarize the scope and complexity of FAD responses in the US

Bruce Whitney, PhD, The Texas A&M University System, College Station, TX

David M. White, DVM, PhD, RBP(ABSA), DACVM, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA

R. Brooks Moore, BBA, JD, The Texas A&M University System, College Station, TX

While most institutions had approved pandemic response plans prior to January 2020, these plans had to be modified to meet the specific circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the experience at two institutions, one academic and one non-academic, as examples, we will show how we responded to this unique situation and discuss the importance of the involvement of the legal team in this process.

Objectives:

• Implement and operate a Pandemic Response Team
• Recognize the role of legal professionals in the pandemic response
• Restate the purpose and role of a Pandemic Response Plan