Category Archives: Just My Thoughts
Lessons Learned
Twenty years of safe deep water drilling did not excuse the oil industry for not being prepared for its recent disaster; 80 years without an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease does not let US livestock industries off the hook from having … Continue reading
Exercising Plans
In Addison County, we identify and prioritize training and exercises during an annual training and exercise workshop. Emergency operations plans (EOP) must be “exercised” to make sure they are up-to-date and that everyone involved understands their role. Think of “exercising” … Continue reading
Decison Making Paradigm
On June 15, Secretary Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security announced final standards for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep). I don’t know the full details of how this certification of private sector entities is … Continue reading
Learning from Another’s Mistake
Photo by Louis Bedor III “That’s what a company is supposed to do is plan for a worst-case scenario,” Fearn-Banks said in an interview with Anne C. Mulkern of Greenwire for the New York Times, June 10, 2010. Kathleen Fearn-Banks … Continue reading
Welcome to Dr. Julie Smith’s Dairy Blog
I have started blogging about agricultural emergency preparedness, particularly aspects related to highly contagious disease emergencies. This topic often goes under the radar in the popular press. I hope to uncover aspects of emergency preparedness that are relevant to the … Continue reading
VPR Interview
On May 26 Vermont Edition broadcast an interview with me about the biosecurity projects I have been leading in Vermont with the support of farmers, agricultural industry personnel, and other community leaders. Jane Lindholm did a nice job capturing the … Continue reading
Bad Acronym!
May 14, 2010 Some acronyms are downright ugly. GLEWS is shorthand for the Global Early Warning and Response System for Major Animal Diseases, Including Zoonoses. GLEWS supports information sharing on disease alerts being tracked by the Food and Agriculture Organization … Continue reading
Animal Health Emergency Management Tabletop Exercise
Being on the lookout for opportunities to mingle with other industry folks engaged in animal disease emergency preparedness, I recently joined the Animal Health Emergency Management Committee of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA). Committee Co-chairs Patrick Webb of … Continue reading
One Health
March 16, 2010 One Health The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) featured “One Health: Implications for Animal Agriculture” as its conference theme this April. “One Health” is the phrase used to describe an approach to health that recognizes the … Continue reading
