Funded by the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP), Secure Food Supply New England is a Vermont-led, New England-wide project that will build on previous projects to:
- Continue Secure Milk Supply planning, and permitting processes that can apply across other food animals also.
- Engage with public and private veterinarians and producers.
- Deliver an application to support readiness at the farm level.
- Conduct a test run of permitting movements (i.e., a tabletop exercise in emergency management terms).
Secure Food Supply Project Director, Dr. Julie Smith
Julie Smith is a research associate professor in animal and veterinary sciences at the University of Vermont. Julie received a B.S. in biological sciences, a D.V.M. and a Ph.D. in animal nutrition at Cornell University. She has applied her veterinary background to programs in the areas of herd health, dairy calf and heifer management, and agricultural emergency management. She also teaches the undergraduate animal welfare class required of majors in her department.
Julie recently completed a five-year, $7 million research collaboration known as the Animal Disease Biosecurity Coordinated Agricultural Project (ADBCAP). The project integrated epidemiological information, human risk perception and socio-economic influences into first-of-their-kind, agent-based models to explore how changing human behaviors affect disease spread dynamics in livestock. The research outputs identified several key areas relevant to producers, industry stakeholders and policy makers, and these have been shared through peer reviewed and lay publications, conference proceedings, meetings, and workshops nationally and internationally.
Read more about the ADBCAP, Dr. Smith and the project collaborators here.Opens a new window
National Animal Disease Preparedness & Response Program
The 2018 Farm Bill established the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response ProgramOpens a new window to boost the nation’s efforts to keep high-consequence animal diseases from entering and spreading in the United States. This program allows APHIS to collaborate with animal health partners throughout the nation to implement high-value projects that enhance prevention, preparedness, detection, and response to the most damaging emerging and foreign animal diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture. The National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program is one of three programs that are supported through the 2018 Farm Bill Section 12101, Animal Disease Prevention and Management Program.
Selected NADPRP 2020 Funded Projects in Animal Biosecurity
The National Milk Producer Federation (NMPF) will improve awareness and understanding of on-farm biosecurity standards and implement Secure Milk Supply (SMS) plans through education, evaluation, and verification. They will also conduct an exercise that will support implementation of the SMS plan at the farm level during a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
University of California, Davis will address known disease risk factors and prevention management gaps in veterinary services provided to small-scale farms and high-risk alternative agriculture systems, including those in urban areas, in CA, OR, WA, and CO by improving access to and delivery of biosecurity information. The project includes analyzing key gaps, developing educational tools, and building capacity through train the trainer tools and resources on biosecurity.
Kansas State University will create a biosecurity planning toolkit to help livestock fairs and exhibition event organizers, local emergency management officials, and animal owners develop plans for biosecurity and safety of animals at fairs and exhibition events. The project will leverage existing information, address known gaps, and provide practical information to this unique audience.
Prairie View A&M University’sInternational Goat Research Center will deliver biosecurity outreach and education to historically underserved and low socioeconomic animal agriculture producers in Texas. An initial survey to assess biosecurity knowledge will be used to develop and deliver workshops and educational material to address gaps. The project includes professional development for extension agents and includes a strategy to measure impact.
The Wisconsin Dept of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Div. of Animal Health will develop and launch a biosecurity outreach campaign to deliver practical information on biosecurity practices in an easily digestible format. The primary target audience is youth – including 4-H, FFA, fair exhibitors, school age children – and adult members of producer groups (swine, beef, dairy, and poultry) and livestock industry vendors.
Advisory Board
The Secure Food Supply New England advisory board consists of state animal health official (SAHO) representatives, USDA APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) representatives, university research scientists, dairy producers and emergency management consultants.
Representing SAHOs
- CT – Jane Lewis
- MA – Margaret Gabour
- ME – Rachael Fiske
- NH – Haley Osgood
- RI – Peter Belinsky
- VT – Kaitlynn Levine
USDA APHIS VS
- Dr. Frederic Cantor
- Dr. Joel Russo
- Dr. Barbara Porter-Spalding
University of Vermont
- Scott Merrill, PhD
- Eric Clark, PhD
- Joanna Cummings, M.S.
Producers & Consultants
- Amber Wilson – SES, Inc.
- Miquela Hanselman – National Milk Producers Federation
- Paul Stanley, DFA Vermont
- Bill Banker, Agri-Mark
- Jordan Clark, Agri-Mark
- Leon Corse, Organic Valley
- John Cleary, Organic Valley
- Adeline Druart, Vermont Creamery
- Cara Sammons-Shepard, Flying Goat Farm
New England
State Veterinarians
- ConnecticutOpens a new window – Jane Lewis, DVM
- MaineOpens a new window – Michele Walsh, DVM
- MassachusettsOpens a new window – Lorraine O’Connor, DVM
- New HampshireOpens a new window – Stephen Crawford, DVM
- Rhode IslandOpens a new window – Scott Marshall, DVM
- VermontOpens a new window – Kristin Haas, DVM
