FARM JOURNAL’S PORK: USDA Plans Full-Function Foreign Animal Disease Exercise in September
In an ongoing effort to prepare the pork industry for a potential foreign animal disease (FAD), the USDA is working on a full-function exercise that will be conducted the week of Sept. 23. The exercise will focus on a fictional outbreak of ASF and the subsequent response by federal and state authorities along with the rest of the pork industry.
The overall purpose of this exercise is to better prepare the U.S. pork industry and its stakeholders in the event of an actual FAD outbreak. Per the USDA’s Veterinary Services overview, this functional exercise will focus on exercising plans, policies, procedures, and staff members involved in management, direction, command, and control functions.
