World Grain - March 2023 - 71

The quicker that we can go
through the containment,
eradication and business
continuity stages, the faster
we can get to reopening
movement and get back to
business as usual.
Cassandra Jones, professor/ASI teaching
coordinator, Kansas State University
rest of the country and non-contaminated products? " she
said. " How quickly can we restart movements of everything
else, and how many products would be affected by
some sort of shutdown? "
It's not clear whether feed movements would require
a permit similar to animal movements, Jones said. Some
states have said during disease response exercises that
they plan to permit feed deliveries to swine facilities.
" The feed mill would have to have a PIN and implement
enhanced biosecurity protocols, " she said. " Other
states have said it's a much lower risk and they don't have
the capacity to manage animal and feed movements. "
It's not certain whether permitting would extend to ingredients,
but Jones said it is unlikely.
" This is perceived to be a low-risk use and I would expect
any of this permitting to only occur if there is sufficient
permitting capacity, " she said. " Initially, permits for
animal movements will be prioritized. "
Several questions remain in the situation where a feed
mill delivered to an infected, suspect or contact site, Jones
said. There is currently no business continuity plan for
feed, which means there is no guidance for enhanced biosecurity
or surveillance.
" There is no validated testing protocol for any ingredient
or feed, which is a required part of permitted movement
of other products, " she said.
The FDA has expressed concern about farm-to-millto-farm
movements and possible incidental leaks in
biosecurity.
" The quicker that we can go through the containment,
eradication and business continuity stages, the faster we
can get to reopening movement and get back to business
as usual, " Jones said.
Feed industry preparedness
The feed industry should examine what it can do now
to prepare for ASF or any foreign animal disease. Feed
World-Grain.com / World Grain / March 2023
mills that supply swine-based clients could look at obtaining
a PIN number from a state animal health official.
She also suggested having a biosecurity plan
in place, such as the ones being developed by the
American Feed Industry Association.
She also recommended developing and practicing a biosecurity
plan that could be put in place in the event of an
ASF infection.
" What happens and what will you do if a feed mill is
inside a control area? " she asked. " What would you do if
you receive delivery trucks or have feed trucks that deliver
through a control area? Or deliveries to swine farms that
are within a surveillance area? What about if you deliver
to non-swine farms inside a control zone and also have deliveries
outside of the control zone? These are some pretty
significant questions as to what we need to be doing to the
outside and inside of delivery vehicles to make sure we
don't have contamination in traffic. "
The swine industry has been proactive in developing
its own voluntary program to work through the steps in a
fast and deliberate manner, Jones said, and she proposed
that a similar industry-led playbook could be created for
the feed industry.
" We don't believe that feed or ingredients are the most
likely way disease enters the US, but it is a likely way that
it can be spread, " she said. " A Secure Feed Supply Plan
could potentially help limit that spread. "
She asked participants to take a five-minute survey to
share their opinions on creating such a plan and what it
could include.
" We'd like your opinions on whether we should be
looking at implementing something like this and what are
some of the initial things we should be deciding in that, "
Jones said. " We're hopeful that something like this could
help maintain access to domestic and international markets
during an outbreak and increase the speed to restore
continuity of business. "
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