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Montana agrosecurity emergency plans protect assets
April 02, 2009 -- By Carol Flaherty
MSU News Service
Montana's 60 million acres of agricultural land and 3 million head of cattle, sheep and pigs are an economic asset that can't be padlocked but need to be protected, says Tommy Bass.
The Montana State University Extension livestock environment associate specialist says agricultural security isn't what most people think.
"It doesn't have to be a terrorist stealing fertilizer for a bomb," Bass said. "We live in a place with floods, fires, earthquakes and blizzards. Agrosecurity is protecting a county's tax base by making sure a taxpayer's cattle get fed after a range fire, or making sure the state's economic base doesn't take a hit because of a suspect foreign animal disease. "
As a member of the national committee to plan for agricultural security county by county, Bass is helping Montana communities create plans to secure their many agricultural assets.
"When a plan is in place, response happens faster," Bass said. "I think communities that take agrosecurity seriously will be able to protect their agricultural and agribusiness assets better. They will be back up to speed and making money again quicker than they would be if they hadn't worked through the process."
For instance, Chouteau County has been in the process of developing a "Pre-disaster Mitigation Plan" and "Community Wildfire Protection Plan". These plans will assist landowners in completing fuel reduction programs in order to lessen the impacts of wildfire on their structures and rangeland. In addition, Chouteau is conducting an in-depth agrosecurity planning project with senior students in the Fort Benton High School. These students are engaging in a series of tabletop exercises that will simulate actual responses to animal related emergencies. They are also assisting in drafting a preparedness plan by compiling background data on zoonotic diseases and a list of animal response resources.
Bass said the planning involves community representatives thinking about how they could best allocate resources during and immediately after an emergency. When there is a large fire, should the fairgrounds be used for firefighter headquarters or to hold cattle herds that have been evacuated? When there is a blizzard, can a National Guard training exercise include airlifting hay to stranded cattle? If so, who do you call to make that happen?
"Most ranchers go it alone, but there may be community resources that are appropriate to use because it ensures the local and state tax base," Bass said.
National and international food systems issues also affect Montana, as evidenced by the call Bass got a few weeks ago.
"My family got a call from Costco to bring back the peanut products we had purchased there," he said. "We are so interconnected. Food produced here can be distributed to both coasts within a few days."
While foot and mouth disease is not a major human health concern, disease outbreaks such as it and brucellosis can threaten Montana's economy. Foot and mouth disease cost the United Kingdom $4 billion in direct economic damage and $9 billion in harm to tourism and related businesses. Livestock is a $1.5 billion industry in Montana, with most cattle being shipped out of state. The Montana Beef Quality Assurance Program can be contacted regarding beef industry bio-security and animal health planning.
Bass has been conducting workshops around Montana for the past year that have drawn county health nurses, veterinarians, federal, state, county and tribal government representatives, Extension agents, as well as producers into the planning process. This year he will help communities delve further into plans.
"With planning, we'll be able to protect agricultural and agribusiness assets better," Bass said.
Planning doesn't stop at the workshop door.
"It's imperative that communities practice their emergency plans, even if it is just a table-top 'what-if' scenario," Bass said. "Once every year or so, get the committee together, go through the plan to see what resources would be needed and when the last verification of those resources took place."
Lee Schmelzer, agriculture agent in Stillwater County, said his community developed an emergency plan a few years ago that now needs to be updated.
"Agriculture presents some unique problems, especially in terms of the scale of a lot of things," Schmelzer said. "Planning helped us to think about the problems that could develop because of the commerce going through on the freeway."
The community ends up dealing with that aftermath for a lot longer than that, Bass said.
"Small community economies are intertwined with ag services. Losing half of a herd due to a wildfire crashes everyone in town, the banker, the co-op, everyone," he said. "Our job is to make sure that impact doesn't spread any more than absolutely necessary."
Contact: Thomas M. Bass, (406) 994-5733 or tmbass@montana.edu
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