Develop educational resources and trainings to prepare extension personnel, county emergency managers, veterinarians and tribal nations to respond to foreign animal diseases (FADS) and mass…

North Dakota State University (NDSU) will develop educational resources and conduct trainings under a $217,138 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The two-year award, issued on May 1, 2023 under the agency's Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025), will support NDSU's efforts to enhance North Dakota's preparedness for and response to foreign animal diseases and mass livestock mortalities. Specifically, NDSU will partner with state, federal, and tribal agencies to create publications, videos, training curricula, and personal protective equipment kits on biosecurity, depopulation, disposal, and decontamination procedures. By the project completion date of April 30, 2025, NDSU aims to disseminate these materials and provide hands-on training to 200 participants to build their capacity to safely address such incidents within their communities across North Dakota. The Cooperative Agreement's products and services are intended to foster more efficient response coordination and focus response efforts on assisting livestock owners during an outbreak.

Purpose

The purpose of this agreement is to develop educational resources and trainings to prepare extension personnel, county emergency managers, veterinarians and tribal nations to respond to foreign animal diseases (FADS) and mass livestock mortalities in north dakota. The project team will collaborate with state, federal and tribal agencies to develop educational resources and training curricula that will be delivered at in-person, hands-on training sessions, increasing efficiency and effectiveness of response efforts to mass animal mortality events. The objectives of this project include: (1) enhance abilities of local communities and the state to respond to FAD outbreaks and mass livestock mortalities by developing resources and providing hands-on training related to biosecurity, depopulation and disposal, and decontamination (2) develop and deliver mental health, stress and conflict management training resources for responding personnel, and (3) build relationships and enhance communication between individuals and agencies responding to FAD outbreaks and mass livestock mortalities.

Activities

The project team will partner with state, federal, and tribal agencies to develop educational resources, curricula (publications, videos, slides) and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to increase awareness and knowledge of fads, biosecurity, depopulation, disposal, and decontamination. These curricula will be delivered to 200 participants during in-person, hands-on training sessions. Curricula development will occur in year one and trainings will occur in year two. Deliverables and expected outcomes: deliverables include four publications and three videos in both english and spanish, personal protective equipment kits and training curricula. Deliverables will be disseminated to 200 participants at in-person, hands-on training sessions, providing the resources, knowledge and skills for individuals to safely respond to FAD outbreaks and mass livestock mortalities in the communities across the state of north dakota.

Intended beneficiaries

This project will increase preparedness and improve the efficiency of response efforts to FAD outbreaks. Training sessions will provide an opportunity to foster cross-communication and build a response team prior to an outbreak, allowing total focus to be on the livestock owner and disposal efforts during the event. This will benefit everyone involved responding to these events, as well as livestock producers and related industries.