Animal Agrosecurity Conference Set for June 4-6

The North Dakota State University Extension Service is hosting an international animal agrosecurity conference June 4-6 in Fargo.

The “Beyond Borders: Regional Animal Agrosecurity” conference will focus on two questions:

• What would happen if an animal agrosecurity incident involved the U.S-Canadian border?
• What role do those in the agricultural, food and health industries, as well as emergency services and law enforcement, have in animal agrosecurity?

“Emergencies and disasters are always local,” says Charlie Stoltenow, NDSU Extension veterinarian. “They will require local action, resources and resolve to deal with an animal agrosecurity incident involving the U.S.-Canadian border. This conference is just the first step in bringing international, national, state and local individuals together to identify the resources on both sides of the border that will be needed to prevent and, if needed, resolve an animal agrosecurity incident.”

Conference topics will include developing county-based animal agrosecurity plans. The conference also will consist of several programs to educate participants on animal agrosecurity issues.

The conference is designed for U.S. and Canadian teams that include producers, veterinarians, Extension/outreach staff, regulatory veterinary medicine personnel, animal health board members, agriculture department and homeland defense representatives, emergency managers, public health officials, state animal response team and veterinary reserve corps members, law enforcement officers, livestock association members, veterinary practitioners and commodity group members.

Speakers will include U.S. and Canadian veterinary officers; producers; commodity and industry representatives; technical experts; university and Extension faculty; and federal, state and provincial officials.

Participants are expected from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Iowa, Alaska and Wisconsin, as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service is underwriting the conference through the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN).

For more information or to register, go to the EDEN Web site at http://www.eden.lsu.edu/AASFargo/. Registration will be online only. The fee is $75. The electronic registration will be open from April 1 to May 15. The conference will be limited to 250 registrants.

Additional informational also is available from Stoltenow, who is conference chair, at (701) 231-7522 or charles.stoltenow@ndsu.edu or Lisa Pederson, NDSU Extension beef quality assurance specialist and conference coordinator, at (701) 328-9718 or lisa.pederson@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication