BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING FOR AGRICULTURE

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 8 BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING FOR AGRICULTURE 1

2 Introduction The concept of planning for emergencies isn t a new one. That s what saving for that rainy day is all about. Most of us sleep better at night with knowledge that our ready-go-kits are packed, insurance policies are up to date, and duplicates of deeds and other important papers are tucked away in secure safes or safe-deposit boxes. We may feel even more prepared if we know that evacuation routes are clearly posted within our workplace and community and if we practice regular fire drills at home and at work. But what happens when the dreaded disaster we ve tried to prepare for actually occurs? In the aftermath, can we completely return to normal? Often we re able to reclaim only some of what we had to start with and have to catch up to return to business as usual'. In a worst case scenario we re forced to make a decision to fold a business because starting all over is just not practical or affordable. Emergency Planning for the Food and Agriculture Sector Government aid may be available for farmers and producers following a catastrophic event but is highly variable and dependent on current national priorities. The current US Farm Bill (Reference 8-1), a comprehensive Federal food and agricultural policy passed by Congress every several years, contains some disaster assistance programs. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides loans, when available, to farmers who have suffered financial setbacks from natural disasters (Reference 8-6). One example of an FSA-sponsored opportunity is the Dairy Disaster Assistance Payment Program which provided benefits to dairy producers for dairy production losses because of natural disasters (Reference 8-2). Most of the food and agriculture sector, a complex network of systems, subsystems and commodity chain flow interconnected within interstate commerce and international trade, is privately owned and operated. Since government aid may not exist for this group, it would be best for private business owners to develop their own emergency plans. COOP Plans and Business Continuity Planning During the Y2K era an urgency more like a panic -- developed on having methods of saving, backing up and salvaging essential records. The forecasted technical losses didn t occur, fortunately. 2

3 However, after the 9/11/01 attacks a new emphasis was placed on the necessity of having contingency plans that would determine how an organization will recover and return to partial or complete function after interruption or disruption of services due to an emergency event of any scope (e.g., local fire, pandemic disease outbreak, etc.). Many government units developed continuity of operations (COOP) plans that included lists of essential services, essential personnel, internet technology contingencies, secure storage facilities and alternate work sites that would be necessary to allow for the continuation of services consistent with that agency s mission (Reference 8-3). Another important incentive for developing COOP plans was the giant wave of pandemic influenza preparedness that swept over the nation (References 8-4, 8-5, need website for APHIS COOP plan, is this on AgLearn?). A business continuity plan is a COOP plan developed to keep a business afloat during or following a disaster. It is a detailed logistics plan which costs nothing to write and which should be a natural extension to any business plans that were required at start-up. While a one-size-fits-all template can be used to build upon, each business venture has variable factors that lead to the creation of a unique plan. Business Continuity Planning in Agriculture A business continuity plan is one of a set of plans that a company may develop. Others in this set include a financial plan required by investor(s) and a disaster preparedness plan. A business continuity plan is similar to a disaster preparedness plan because it contains information to assist with preparation for what happens after a disaster. Its main use is to provide specific guidelines that will enable a business to exist while it seems all else around it (the farm or business site) is in a state of deterioration or chaos. The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the United Kingdom (UK) in had devastating effects on that nation. Besides the millions of animals destroyed, generations of family farmers put out of business and changes to national government structure, there were believed to be massive, perhaps preventable losses, due to 3

4 the inability of animal-related products to move within disease-free zones. It is especially this last point that provided a valuable lesson to the U.S. The concept of business continuity planning for agriculture arose in recent years to prevent just that type of outcome. When a disease is localized or regionalized, critical satellite industries (such as animal feed) can stay in operation which, in turn, allows farmers in unaffected areas to stay in business and therefore minimize losses for everyone. Both the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) and the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (NIAA) have proposed the development and implementation of a comprehensive national agriculture and food continuity of business strategy/operational plan to be utilized in the event of a major agriculture or food emergency. Such a plan, with input from industry as well as all levels of government and research facilities, would integrate necessary resources, initiatives, regulatory policies, and emergency processes already in place to protect producers and allied industries from losses associated with stop movement orders and downtime during such an event. Business continuity planning, along with awareness, biosecurity, and notification is one of the basic components of SC Ag-Watch. During a disease event, the goals of SC Ag-Watch during response and recovery are the following: SC producers and processors who use proper biosecurity measures at their premises/sites and who follow measures in accordance with state and federal guidelines and regulations will be able to maintain the health of their herds, flocks, and crops and will be able to maintain trade by movement of animals and products within safe zones. Some of these measures include: GIS technology to map food and agriculture production and processing sites to determine routes less likely to transmit disease transmission from contagious agents Movement permitting of animals and products based on negative diagnostic testing (proof of negative status). A Business Continuity Plan makes a farm, facility or commodity less attractive to a would-be agroterrorist. Any business that can return to near-normal operations within a short amount of time 4 is less likely to be chosen as a target.

5 Steps in Developing a Business Continuity Plan Determine the scope of the plan: o Is the plan written for a specific threat (e.g. fire, flood, disease) or for all hazards o Is it written to provide contingencies for the short-term (business interrupted for a few days) or long-term (including the need to permanently re-locate and start over. Determine the critical functions that the business cannot operate without: o List these essential functions first and then prioritize the rest from most to least vital. The most critical functions are the ones that can tolerate the least amount of downtime. o Then do the same with staff members, equipment, suppliers and clients. o Identify off-site options for storage of originals and duplicates of data, legal documents, insurance policies and other vital records. o Determine how or if substitutions could be made for any of these if none were available. o Identify a temporary alternate work site where business operations be restored within a reasonable period (including set up of computers, FAX, copier, printers), and where at least some essential staff may have to relocate for weeks. Maintain information: o Contact information inside and outside of the organization, regulatory agencies and associated reporting requirements. o Record account numbers and dates payments are due. o Include maps as necessary. o Give complete copies of the plan to essential personnel, but make sure that everyone understands the delegation of authority so that they will be able to follow the decision-makers should the plan have to be put into effect. o Update the plan as necessary and exercise it if at all possible. 5

6 Checklist for a Basic Business Continuity Plan (.. leave here or put into an appendix?) Business Name and Address Short description of purpose and scope of plan Delegation of Authority Essential Business Functions Essential Personnel Essential Equipment Computer Security Back-up Software Essential Records (list e.g. permits, legal documents, contracts, insurance policies, reporting requirements) Records Storage Originals Duplicates Hardcopies Communications Methods Alternate Communication Methods Alternate Business Site(s) Maps attached Emergency Contact Information Internal (all personnel and contacts) Emergency Contact Information External Fire Police Hospital Attorney Regulatory Officials Accountant Utilities Consultants 6

7 Alert/Notification/Activation of Plan - Steps Suppliers Alternate Suppliers Plan Date(s) with Signatures Location(s) of Original and Duplicate Business Continuity Plans Business Continuity Planning for Agriculture Producers and Processors Concerns about the health of commodities, as well as wholesomeness/freshness/shelf life/quality of products are issues affecting business continuing planning for animal and crop/plant producers and food processors. Another special factor is the ability of public fear and media response to cause a shut-down of an entire industry when only one farm or grocery store was involved in an event. Reportable or notifiable disease outbreaks cause even more unique problems for these business owners. During such events, animal and plant, and human health regulatory agencies will step in to investigate and to implement actions for the purpose of preventing or limiting damage to affected individuals and populations. Without prior planning, food and agriculture business owners, who must comply with regulatory actions such as stop movement orders and quarantines, could lose control over some essential business functions during these difficult times. As discussed earlier, the FMD outbreak in the UK in provided the impetus to U. S. animal-agriculture emergency managers about the need for contingency planning in the event of a foreign animal disease (FAD). While each state animal health authority has plans in place for FAD prevention and response, some are what can be considered model plans (Reference 8-7). These extensively detailed written plans have been developed with input from various industry/commodity groups and contain important disease background information and detailed instructions for every step that will be necessary, by every farm to fork stakeholder, in order to allow continued operations and product flow during different phases of a FAD response. A summary example of these steps is shown below. 7

8 This example is specific for a viral animal disease. With substitutions where appropriate the template can be adapted for crop or nursery operations to prepare for disease/pest outbreaks as well for food processing sites and facilities for food contamination events. These checklist items could be added to the general business continuity template, or could be put in separate annexes (e.g. one for each likely threat such as specific diseases) attached to the general plan. Business Continuity Plan Checklist - Example for a Viral Animal Disease: (.. leave here or put into an appendix?) Background Information on the Disease Species Affected, Methods of Transmission, Public Health Effects Overview/Brief Description of Response Actions by Regulatory Agencies Plan Activation, Investigation Protocol, Outbreak Control and Eradication Procedures Stopping Transmission of Virus; Movement Restrictions; Contact Restrictions; Media Messaging; Disposal; Cleaning and Disinfection; Surveillance Risk Assessments For Farm/Production Unit, Distribution Channels, Processing Plants Stability of Virus in Individual Settings Stability of Virus in Individual Products (e.g. meat, eggs, pasteurized milk) Biosecurity Procedures Standard Non-Disposable vs. Disposable Clothing/Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Elevated For Farm/Production Unit, Distribution Channels, Processing Plants Specific Response Protocols For Farm/Production Unit At Different Types of Operations (e.g. Finisher vs. Sow Barn) For Distribution Channels Distribution Protocols for Livestock Markets, Intrastate and Interstate movement, International Exports, Transportation Vehicles 8

9 For Processing Plants At Different Activation Levels and Different Control/Eradication Zones When Disease is Not Known to be Present in the State but is in U.S. When Disease is Present in the State Within Non-Restricted Areas Within Restricted Areas Infected Zone Within Quarantine Zone Within Surveillance Zone What Procedures Must be in Place in order to Move Animals or Products Proof of Status Testing Methods of Sampling Testing Protocols Appendices Definitions State Response Plan for Foreign Animal Disease(s) Message Maps - Notification Messages for Producers, Processors, Haulers, Public Collection, Sampling and Testing Protocols USDA/EPA Approved Sanitizers Vendors for PPE and Sanitizers Biosecurity Procedures Standard and Elevated Sample Visitors Log North Carolina Department of Agriculture has also developed a Terrorism Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool for agricultural businesses (Reference 8-8). See the References Section for this and other downloadable resources and information related to business continuity planning. 9