Page 1March 2016

March 2016

rCounties, agriculture producers can help residents during a disaster

Scott Cotton calls for teamwork

Rural disasters often mobilize two self-described groups: “the red light team” from the ranks of fire, emer-gency medicine and law enforcement systems and “the Carhartt and cowboy hat army,” including agriculture producers and their children, friends, and relatives serving officially and unofficially as emergency responders. Both groups bring critical knowledge and skills; working together, they are achieving faster and better response to emergencies and disasters beyond the pavement.

Contributing to the ef for t is the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). Its Strengthening Community Agro-Security Preparedness (SCAP)

curriculum, introduced in 2002 by land-grant university extension programs, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has led to enhanced communication, coordination and training.

Emer gency manager s and ag producers work ing wi th SCAP facilitators have drafted or updated agriculture disaster and other plans in 311 counties nationwide.

University of Wyoming Extension programming connects Wyoming counties with EDEN ef for ts and disaster experts across the United States.

Why grow the role of the Carhartts?County emergency managers operate within the framework of the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to face the challenges of preparing for and responding to emergencies and disasters, as well as training and maintaining readiness for all types of events. By law, emergency and disaster response managers prior-itize human safety. When large-scale incidents occur, they direct resources to human safety before property losses and damage.

When emergencies, hazards, outbreaks or other incidents affect crops, live-stock and infrastructure, agriculture producers take action, often applying emergency management principles, to protect their livelihood.

Food supplies and local economies may be at risk. In Wyoming, agriculture is a top-three industry. Community emergency response teams for agri-culture throughout the country have helped mitigate disaster impacts to keep the business of agriculture going.

Several counties in Nebraska reduced their livestock response times from an average of nine hours to 47 minutes after county officials and agriculture producers developed a strong system. The result has been an estimated 5,000 head of cattle – worth around $12 million – saved.

What if Wyoming

counties could reduce

initial response time

to agriculture and

livestock events

to 47 minutes?

Historically, many agriculture producers were rural emergency responders, as evidenced by the number of fire trucks retired in farm and ranch fields.

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AG &HORT

Emergency managers who have implemented agriculture branches within their operations find they have resources who bring personal knowledge, alternative routes and the expertise and manpower to operate equipment, evacuate livestock and animals, deliver supplies and deal with everything from ownership questions to disease awareness…all without reducing or redirecting the fire, medical and law enforcement resources needed for human safety.

Is it Time to Stack Hay?Coordinating the strengths of emer-gency managers and agriculture producers is like stacking hay – you have to do it because there is a need.

The f irst step is for emergency managers, authorities and producers to work together to identify risks, resources and community capabilities. From this they can identify vulner-abilities. Disaster and emergency vulnerabilities are the risks that have not been addressed or reduced. For example, in the path of a wildfire, large propane tanks for powering irrigation pumps could present a serious vulnerability.

The second step is to develop a col-laborative effort to mitigate or re-solve identified vulnerabilities. Under the authority and guidance of the emergency manager, agriculture pro-ducers can typically participate as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) or Agriculture Citizens Emergency Response Team (AgCERT).

This framework for authority, communi-cation, insurance and training supports the effective integration of these new emergency response teams.

The third step is to train, equip and maintain the new resource teams. Enhancing rural disaster response requires maintaining the readiness and f itness level of AgCERTs so they operate safely and efficiently. Volunteers and the jurisdiction must commit to train regularly, and volunteer AgCERT leaders must step forward.

Put Your Expertise to WorkAfter Extension personnel assisted one Colorado county through the EDEN agro-security preparedness program, the emergency manager quipped, “I wished I’d known sooner that these folks have so much exper-tise, resources and ability. Now I know if I don’t have them cooperating, I’m liable to have them rolling right around me!”

Agriculture producers can tap into their communities to recruit motivated “Carhart t and cowboy hat” rein-forcements and galvanize advocates for expanded disaster funding. The process takes commitment, but rural residents tend to commit strongly to efforts they help develop. Another benefit? The gratification of forging new working relationships.

If you want to address your county’s agriculture readiness, visit with your county emergency manager, then contact your local extension office.

Scott Cotton is the UW Extension area educator serving Converse, Natrona and Niobrara counties. His specialties include range management, livestock production, rural acreage management and agriculture and disaster resilience. He is the Wyoming delegate for the Extension Disaster Education Network. Contact him at (307) 235-9400 or scotton1@uwyo.edu.

Issued in furtherance of extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Glen Whipple, director, University of Wyoming Extension, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071.

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RESPECT FOR ONE ANOTHER’S CALLINGS

Contributing to a coordinated effort are emergency responders from backgrounds in emergency services and those who learned to pitch in with other farmers and ranchers. Rural deputy sherif fs, volunteer firefighters and other responders frequently belong to both groups. Here is what they bring:

EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANAGERS

• Authority over incident responses

• Coordinated system• Human safety first• Resources and training

availableAGRICULTURE PRODUCERS

• Relationships with neighbors• Familiarity with locations• Equipment and expertise on

hand • Understanding of rural

functions and vulnerabilities.