Building an all-hazards agricultural emergency response system to maintain business continuity and promote the sustainable supply of food and agricultural products

The response to an agricultural emergency that threatens to destroy crops or animals requires a rapid, coordinated state-level response from the outset. An authority should be established at the local level to initiate and enforce food embargoes, quarantine livestock or poultry premises, depopulate affected or potentially affected animals, and provide indemnity, when appropriate, for those depopulated animals or destroyed products. Depending on the scale of the threat, industry needs, state resources, and response capacity, the authority for these activities currently resides with the state and is supported by federal agencies. However, an all-encompassing all-hazards agricultural emergency response system can be constructed through collaborations with agricultural industry, state responders, and federal agencies. The formed response should include development of permitting guidance for controlled harvest and movement of unaffected crops, animals, and animal products. The ultimate goal is to effectively manage the emergency yet maintain agricultural business continuity.