The Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health (KDA–DAH) is pleased to share that Kansas now has more than one million head of cattle covered by Secure Beef Supply Plans, a significant step toward supporting the economic viability of the Kansas cattle industry in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak.

KDA-DAH has been working with Kansas beef, milk and pork producers to develop Secure Food Supply Plans in conjunction with the national plans developed by the Center for Food Security and Public Health. Kansas was the first state in the nation to work with feedlots to implement individual biosecurity plans, and to date more than 1.24 million head of beef cattle are covered under a Secure Beef Supply Plan. In addition, 118,000 head of dairy cows and 1.49 million head of pigs are covered under Secure Dairy Supply and Secure Pork Supply Plans, respectively.

The Secure Food Supply Plans are voluntary tools which help maintain business continuity for producers, transporters and food processors within the animal agriculture industry while protecting animal health during an animal disease event. The Secure Food Supply Plans involve development of protocols including biosecurity plans, self-assessment, training, and other elements that will demonstrate the ability of the business to prevent the potential spread of disease.

The impact of a foreign animal disease outbreak on the Kansas economy would be immense, and the Secure Food Supply Plans Project is just one of the ways the Kansas Department of Agriculture works to prevent, mitigate and respond to potential incidents. These plans provide guidance for increased biosecurity measures at feedyards, dairies and hog operations across the state, which supplement the state’s foreign animal disease response plan. KDA annually conducts an emergency preparedness exercise involving hundreds of individuals in a multiday effort to test the state’s ability to respond to a foreign animal disease. This year’s exercise will take place Dec. 17–20, 2018.

Beef, dairy and pork producers and operations across Kansas are encouraged to participate in the voluntary Secure Food Supply Plan Project. To find out more about the project in Kansas, go to agriculture.ks.gov/kssecurefood or contact David Hogg, assistant emergency management coordinator, at David.Hogg@ks.gov or 785-564-7468.