By Stephanie Schupska
University of
Georgia

Georgia isn’t immune to agroterrorism or natural disasters.
People across the state are readying for emergencies from
hurricanes to the Asian bird flu to intentional threats.
Preparations are starting at agrosecurity trainings.

Presented by the Georgia Committee on Agriculture and Food
Defense and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension,
agrosecurity awareness trainings began last July and are slated
to continue into early 2006. Over 1,500 people have been
trained so far.

The next sessions will be held on Friday, Feb. 10 in Waycross,
Ga., and Calhoun, Ga., on Monday, Feb. 13 in Statesboro, Ga.,
and on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in Swainsboro, Ga., and Hartwell,
Ga.

“Agriculture and food affect every single county in the state,”
said Don Hamilton, homeland security coordinator for the UGA
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Food is
distributed in every county through grocery stores, and it’s
transported through every county. Agricultural and food
security should span the continuum from farm to fork.”

The training is free and open to potential agriculture
emergency responders. The class teaches those in emergency
management and agriculture-related businesses how to recognize
an agricultural incident and minimize potential problems
through proper training. It is also geared toward responders
from local and state governments and volunteer organizations
who respond to all types of emergencies.

Participants can also earn continuing education units. The
training is sponsored by the U.S. Office of Domestic
Preparedness in cooperation with the Georgia Emergency
Management Agency, Georgia Department of Agriculture, UGA and
the USDA.

For more information or to register, go to
www.agrosecurity.uga.edu.

(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)