The National Pork Producers Council has a new Web based "action plan" tool for hog farmers. It was introduced at the 2009 World Pork Expo June 3 to 5 in Des Moines.

The educational tool helps producers put together information and a plan so that they are ready to cope with any emergency that may arise on their farm. It could be a tornado, a disease situation, a fire or whatever.

You can find out how to be prepared and plan by using this tool, says Steve Weaver, president of the National Pork Board. "It's important for producers to have an emergency plan in place," he says. "This is a Web-based program we can use as producers. We can all look at this base template and work from it."

It was a chance to test his farm's plan

It forces producers to look at the question—What happens if? Does your family and employees know what is in your plan? Is the emergency information readily accessible or posted in places so you can get to it fast when needed?

"We had this plan in place to test it when the H1N1 virus was reported this spring," says Weaver. "That gave us a chance to test our own emergency plan, to go through our biosecurity steps we use on our farm. It wasn't perfect. But it was 95% plus. We looked at our plan and saw that we have the right phone numbers to call if we need to do so in case of any type of emergency."

The NPB wants producers to know who to call locally in case of emergency, how to do it and where to go for more information after the disaster strikes. The Web-based action plan is a super-site with a checklist for you to use. Check it out at www.pork.org

Help protect health & safety of employees

NPB president Chris Novak says this is an action plan in case of an emergency or disaster that strikes your farm. The plan is a way producers can protect the health and safety of their employees and livestock.

"As we look at some emergencies that a farmer may face, there will be people coming to their farm to help them respond and address a crisis, whether it's a disease outbreak or whatever. With a disease outbreak you'll have state veterinary officials show up. If it's a fire or a flood you need to be able to communicate with emergency professionals—firefighters or first responders."

Don't wait for an emergency to happen

You need to be able to tell firemen or emergency medical people what's in the building and who is in the building, and what equipment you have to be able to respond.

"Farmers need to be able to sit down today and take a look at all these factors and have a plan in place with relevant phone numbers and all information they need to address any crisis that may occur on their farm," says Novak. "You can't simply wait for it to happen and hope the response will be adequate. We are giving this Web-based tool to the hog industry, to help producers deal with emergencies."