UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Bioterrorism is a frightening new word for many Americans. But experts at a recent Penn State seminar said farmers can use existing techniques to lessen risks.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Samuel E. Hayes Jr. said the state's farmers and food processors are generally well prepared for a terrorist attack, but both the state and the nation need more laboratories to combat bioterrorism that targets agriculture.

Speaking at "Risk Management and the Threat of Bioterrorism in the Food System," a seminar sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and Smeal College of Business Administration, Hayes was joined by national experts in bioterrorism, agroterrorism and biosecurity to discuss the threats to the nation's food supply.

Hayes pointed out that recent accidental outbreaks of mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease in other countries have increased U.S. farmers' awareness and provided a jump start on dealing with accidental or intentional disease threats here.

"Every day, agriculture is faced with diseases that can attack our plant and animal kingdom," Hayes said. "So the agricultural sector is probably in a good position as part of our domestic economy; we have been out front and continue to do quite well. While agriculture has probably done more than any other sector, there are still risks, and we have to work every day to minimize them."

Hayes said he has requested $10 million in the department's budget to build three diagnostic laboratories capable of quickly and effectively identifying plant and animal diseases that could ravage the state's agricultural economy. He said the state is woefully deficient in biosecurity laboratories capable of handling diseases such as anthrax.

The state, according to Hayes, also should press the development of vaccines for foreign animal diseases, build a more robust biosecurity infrastructure for food processors and increase consumer awareness of potential food-safety threats.

"You could take down our nation's agricultural industries very quickly without effective biosecurity defenses and a quick emergency response," Hayes said. "That would mean no milk, ham, poultry meats or eggs -- a nation without those commodities is obviously at risk."

Seminar keynote speaker Ernest Del Bueno Jr., vice president of the crisis management firm Rowan and Blewitt Inc., offered biosecurity tips for food-processing companies drawn from more than 20 years of experience as a crisis manager, public affairs coordinator and antiterrorist planner. He said most food processors already have food recall plans, but may need to prepare an umbrella crisis management plan.

"Food security is really nothing more than another form of food safety, and it uses many of the same principles and procedures," Del Bueno said. "Instead of guarding your process against contamination from the inside, food security prevents someone from contaminating the product from the outside."

Nan Hanshaw Roberts, emergency programs coordinator for the state agriculture department's Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services, described the state's preparations against agroterrorism. They include the Emergency Management Stakeholders Council, which brings together industry and governmental groups and state legislators to protect Pennsylvania livestock by focusing on prevention, preparation, response and recovery.

Roberts noted several agroterrorism resources, including an animal emergency e-mail notification system that is available for members of industry, cooperative extension agents, veterinarians, food producers, laboratories and other states.

Farming's transition from small, isolated traditional farms with minimal animal or human movement to today's larger, concentrated animal groups and rapid animal movement is at the root of agriculture's need for biosecurity, said Larry Hutchinson, Penn State professor of veterinary science.

"Rapid movement of people and animals means that the whole contamination process can happen quickly," he said. "Contaminated California vegetables can be in Pennsylvania within five to seven days."

Hutchinson said all farms should have a biosecurity plan that should include methods of restricting entry to production areas, keeping records of medications and health histories, networking with other producers, specific feed handling techniques, access to manure and manure handling, and testing and screening. The plan also will increase food quality assurance and consumer satisfaction, he said.

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Contact: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax #181