USDA offers guide to help farmers protect nation’s food supply

USDA offers guide to help farmers protect nation’s food supply    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a guide to help farmers better protect the nation’s food supply against unintentional or deliberate introductions of plant and animal diseases.
   The “Pre-Harvest Security Guidelines and Checklist 2006” was developed based on recommendations from farmers throughout the United States, the USDA said. The guidelines cover general agriculture, dairy, crops, cattle and poultry security.
   Transportation security recommendations are included in the guide and checklist.
   The USDA said doors, windows, gates, roof openings, vent openings, trailer bodies, railcars and bulk storage tanks should be secured at all times. Truck deliveries should be verified against a roster of scheduled deliveries, while unscheduled deliveries should be held away from facilities pending verification of the shipper and cargo, the USDA checklist noted.
   To view the guidelines and checklist online, access https://www.usda.gov/homelandsecurity.