A month ago (8 June) at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, IA, more than 80 attendees representing production agriculture, law enforcement, media, and state and federal governments participated in a table-top exercise based on a simulated foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Some tabletop exercises merely involve sitting around a table; this one used the three-dimensional model of agricultural facilities that I saw at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) meeting in April. The beauty of conducting this type of exercise with a variety of stakeholders is that it really makes you think—and recognize that your perspective would not be the only one involved in a response.
This is one of several Pork-Checkoff-sponsored farm biosecurity and disease emergency preparedness activities supported by the National Pork Board. Another one is the Biosecurity Guide for Pork Producers.
