At the suggestion of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health at the ISPA June Board of Directors meeting, ISPA convened a task force of poultry companies with operations in northeastern Indiana. The purpose of the task force is to create and formulate methods and practices the industry can perform cooperatively to lessen the impact of any future HPAI disease incidents in the area. Another goal is to familiarize each company’s staff with their counterparts from other companies and build relationships upon which they can depend in the event of future disease incidents and other industry challenges in the region.

So far, the group has met four times, and they are scheduled to meet again later in November. At our last meeting, Drs. Shipman and Cooper with BOAH joined us to share insights on opportunities to be better prepared for future events and to discuss policies related to response protocols and share how they impact the various production systems in the area. Other meetings have included a conversation with landfill operators whose facilities accepted HPAI-related wastes during the last disease incident, learning about the use of nitrogen for euthanasia, and how to be prepared if HPAI-related wastes need to be managed through composting.

We look forward to more productive conversations in the coming year and continuing to grow in friendship and common purpose. Becky Joniskan