A tool being developed by the Kansas State University National Agricultural Biosecurity Center will assist agricultural emergency management coordinators in planning efforts to combat animal disease outbreaks and other emergencies.
The tool is a database called ICAAR, which stands for Identifying Corrective Actions from Agricultural Response. The name sounds complex, but the concept is fairly simple: collect information from states about what they learn from emergency preparedness exercises and how to improve future plans, then allow others with a need to know to access it.
Ken Burton, program director at the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, says emergency planning team members identify responses and corrective actions after every training or event, with trainings and simulations conducted in all 50 states. The problem is that the information isn’t readily available.
ICAAR provides a searchable database to serve as a central repository for emergency response managers and planners to learn from others’ exercises, challenges, and successes. The project is supported by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Health Affairs Food, Agriculture and Veterinary Defense Branch, or DHS FAV Defense, through the Food Protection and Defense Institute at the University of Minnesota.
"The database currently contains five years’ worth of material, so it has a good start," Burton said. "The more information we can add to the database, the more value it will bring to agricultural response coordinators."
Now the goal is to spread the word about the tool and get feedback on its interface and functionality. In February, Burton gave a talk about the database at a workshop for the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture the database and interest was high.
Marvin Meinders, chief of DHS FAV Defense, said he expects the tool will be ready by the end of this fiscal year.