By Stephanie Schupska
University of
Georgia
For the past year, the Georgia Committee on Agriculture and
Food Defense and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
have worked to make sure Georgia’s agriculture industry is as
safe as possible.
Training classes across the state have helped prepare Georgians
to respond to an agrosecurity incident.
“Agriculture and food affect every single county in the state,”
said Don Hamilton, Homeland Security coordinator for UGA’s
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Food is
distributed in every county through grocery stores, and it’s
transported through every county. Agriculture and food span the
continuum from farm to fork.”
The committee is hoping to have 3,500 people trained by the end
of April when the agrosecurity trainings will draw to a close.
The last trainings will be held Tuesday, March 28 in Dawson;
Thursday, April 6 in Brunswick; Tuesday, April 11 in
Thomasville and Thursday, April 13 in Lawrenceville and
Marietta.
The training is free and open to potential agriculture
emergency responders. Other classes may be offered through the
end of April depending on demand.
“The purpose of these trainings is to get information from the
various groups – like farmers and emergency workers – to each
other so they will know what the other’s roles are and what
each can bring to the table,” Hamilton said.
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 towards responders from local and state governments
and volunteer organizations who respond to all types of
emergencies.
“People generally know their own jobs and do them well,”
Hamilton said, “but they don’t necessarily know what others
will be doing in the same situation.”
For those looking for credit hours, CEUs are available through
various agencies. 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.
