Battening down the hatches: co-op security measures intensified in post-September 11 world

Editor's Note: Dewey is corporate communications manager for CF Industries, Schmidt is public relations manager for Farmland Industries and Thuner is a USDA agricultural economist.

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, have forever changed the American mind set. No longer do Americans feel safe from attacks by terrorists. Feelings of shock, anguish and anger combined with a real sense of violation have led to increased security measures throughout the United States in nearly every industry.

The agricultural industry has been especially affected as concerns about the use of crop dusters and agricultural chemicals have risen to a new high. Two major cooperatives in the fertilizer industry, Farmland and CF Industries, have always been aware of potential security concerns, but both have increased their guard as security threats have become a heightened concern in a post-Sept. 11 world.

Farmland redoubles security efforts

Assessing risk, planning "what-if" scenarios and protecting products from illegal use have long been routine practices for Farmland Industries. But the September 11 events, as well as the anthrax-tainted mail incidents, have generated an added security emphasis.

Before Sept. 11, Farmland's "what-if" scenarios may have dealt with a leak or accidental release of fuel or an agri-chemical. Now Farmland considers the threat of anthrax-tainted mail or even someone flying an airplane into a fertilizer manufacturing facility to create an explosion.

Preparation will make or break the response to such an event. Scott Ast, Farmland director of worldwide security, and his team look at big-picture processes and risks. They also serve as a resource and consultant to Farmland business units and facilities. "We want to protect all the points in the process--from securing raw materials to production, storage and distribution," Ast says.

Although imagining the most elaborate "what-if" scenarios is part of the job, it is important to balance that with the most likely security breaches. According to Ast, the most prevalent illegal use of a Farmland product remains the theft of anhydrous ammonia to make methamphetamine.

Transportation is another vulnerable point in the production and distribution process. Companies such as Farmland are taking necessary precautions against theft and misuse. Farmland drivers are more aware of their surroundings and are encouraged to lock their units and park in secure areas. Farmland has also eliminated preloading of trucks.

Farmland security officials have attended a number of meetings between farm organizations and government agencies to discuss the chances of agriculture becoming a terrorism target. It recommends the following suggestions for local cooperatives.

* Know your customers and escort everyone while on your property.

* Report any suspicious attempts to purchase ammonium nitrate or urea to the FBI.

* Pay close attention to product inventories and shipments.

* Conduct a full security review of your facilities.

* Construct suitable barriers around your property, such as fencing and structures.

* Park vehicles and equipment where they can be easily seen by law enforcement during regular patrols.

* Use steel doors with deadbolt locks and bar windows where appropriate. Use high-security chains and padlocks.

* Lock vessels, containers, hoppers, tanks and equipment containing hazardous products.

* Deter vehicle ingress by using gates or bollards and chain/cable with padlocks.

* Remove hoses and use tank locks and seals for anhydrous ammonia tanks.

* Ensure security and emergency plans and procedures are in compliance with local, state and federal requirements. Conduct quarterly drills and training exercises.

* Post "Private Property-No Trespassing" signs along fence lines/boundaries.

* Keep an undated list of all emergency contacts.

* Maintain effective information technology security, password protection and firewalls.

* Report all suspicious activities, vehicles or persons around your property.

* Report all threats on personnel and facilities.

* Report all thefts, inventory shortages or missing products that could pose a public health or safety risk. Keep blank bills of lading and order forms secured. Keep seals and labels secured.

* Don't allow loaded, unattended, unsecured trailers on your site.

* Create opening and closing security checklists for employees.

* Maintain close liaison with local law enforcement and emergency responders. Ask for extra law enforcement patrols and give them tours of your property.

* Establish a process for including neighbors and the community as part of the property security and emergency procedures.

Awareness, vigilance and common sense are all part of ensuring that ag products are used in the intended manner.

CF Industries stresses around-the-clock security

At CF Industries, new security enhancements were added to complement the company's existing list of security systems and activities after Sept. 11. Frank Buzzanca, vice president of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and Engineering, is the company's top security officer. "We recognize a need for heightened awareness following Sept. 11," Buzzanca said. "We've always had a strong commitment to safety and security. Now our focus must be stronger." The following list of safety and security precautions were in place at CF prior to September 11:

* 24-hour site security at terminal and plant locations.

* Fenced perimeters around facilities.

* Emergency shutdown systems that can be activated at stations located throughout the plants and ammonia terminals.

* Dikes surrounding liquid fertilizer storage tanks to contain the product in the unlikely event of a rupture.

* Periodic inspections of all ammonia storage tanks.

* Periodic drills with local emergency responders so they are better prepared if a major incident occurred.

* Periodic EHS audits.

* Annual meetings with law enforcement to get them familiar with CF staff and facilities.

* Annual operator safety training and refresher courses.

CF has taken new steps since Sept. 11 to enhance security at its facilities. The following list provides a number of important new activities:

* Participation in a fertilizer industry security task force to share security measures being taken.

* Contacting local, state and federal agencies to discuss new security enhancements.

* Conducting security reviews and vulnerability studies at a number of facilities in 2002, in addition to the EHS audits CF already conducts.

* Anticipating unannounced visits from the U.S. Coast Guard and other government agencies that are checking to see if proper safety measures are in place. In 2001, the Coast Guard visited three CF locations and determined employees took proper security precautions.

CF's corporate Web site has taken on a different look following Sept. 11 as well. Anything CF felt was too revealing--from a security standpoint--was taken off of its Internet site.

Employee training remains a vital component of CF's security program. CF Industries' media relations training was tested during a television reporter's surprise visit to the company's Louisiana plant. The reporter was following up on a news lead regarding reports of a suspicious vehicle in the area. While the reporter gathered information from the plant manager, the television photographer stood near a service road and prepared to set up a camera to videotape the plant. CF security guards promptly asked the photographer for identification. The reporter later noted on the newscast that the company was doing a good job maintaining its security.

"A strong safety culture has existed at CF for a long time," said Buzzanca. "This employee mind set is deeply rooted as a result of years of training, drills, safety audits and learning from experience," Buzzanca said. "Our employees are trained to be alert at all times."

CF also communicates periodically with residents in the communities where it operates. Information about shelter-in-place is circulated in an effort to educate people on the steps to take if a major incident were to occur.

The company's public affairs office has monitored anti-terrorism initiatives discussed in Washington and at state capitols. CF will work with trade associations and regulatory agencies to ensure the safety of the fertilizer industry's infrastructure and products. The company will continue to enhance security as required to protect employees, company assets and surrounding communities.

In spite of all the new measures, though, awareness of potential threats and continued communication with the industry, the government, the community, and employees remain at the core of these cooperatives' new security programs.

RELATED ARTICLE: USDA responds to security needs.

USDA has responded in the wake of Sept. 11 by creating a new infrastructure to move forward on numerous fronts to better protect the nation's agricultural and food systems.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in Orlando in January, Jeremy Stump, a confidential assistant to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, said the USDA Homeland Security Council has been created and charged with the mission of protecting American agriculture. The panel is overseen by Secretary Veneman, with Deputy Secretary James R. Moseley chairing the council. The council includes all USDA under secretaries, the inspector general, selected USDA state office directors and USDA's communications director. The council is charged with ensuring that information, research and resources related to homeland security are shared and that USDA activities in this area are coordinated with other appropriate federal agencies.

"No effort will be spared by USDA as we work with your cooperatives and all others in agriculture to ensure the safety of the nation's food and fiber production systems," Stump said.

Three subcouncils have also been created to support the council's mission in the following areas:

* Protection of Food Supply and Agricultural Production--responsibilities include protecting food production, processing, storage and distribution; rapid response to threats against the ag sector; border surveillance and protection to prevent introduction of plant and animal pests and diseases; food safety concerning meat, poultry and egg inspection, laboratory support, research and education, and outbreaks of foodborne illness.

* Protecting USDA Facilities and Other Infrastructure--responsibilities include safeguarding USDA laboratories, technical facilities, collections and information from biohazards and pathogens. Also ensures security of USDA scientists, National Forest System lands and related infrastructure and information technology resources at USDA.

* Protecting USDA Staff and Emergency Preparedness--this subcouncil deals with all issues affecting USDA staff and the continuity of operations plan, continuity of government, occupant emergency planning and federal inter-agency emergency coordination, as well as emergency communications within USDA.

RELATED ARTICLE: Homeland security: a defining issue for co-ops.

"We never had to think like a terrorist before. But now we must in order to better secure our facilities from possible sabotage."

These are the words of the security director for a major farm supply cooperative (who asked that he and his co-op not be identified). They reveal much about the changed world view facing cooperatives and others in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

How real is this threat of agro-terrorism? Very real, according to Dr. Peter Chalk, a senior researcher with the RAND corporation in Arlington, Va. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Farm Credit Council (FCC) in Orlando in January, Chalk said terrorists might view the nation's $190-billion farm economy as an inviting target.

Livestock operations--such as feedlots and dairies--are especially at risk, since a pathogen introduced by a terrorist could spread rapidly through animals kept in close confinement. Chalk said one insidious aspect of agro-terrorism against livestock is that it can be difficult to differentiate between a naturally occurring disease outbreak and one caused by a terrorist.

Current methods for reporting livestock disease outbreaks need to be improved, and farmers and ag facility operators everywhere need to better plan how to protect their operations from potential sabotage, he said, adding that many livestock processing plants have only "rudimentary security systems in place."

Chalk recommended that much more be invested in human and logistical infrastructure to better protect the nation's food production system from agro-terrorists. Other recommendations include reforming the curriculum being taught at veterinary colleges, greater involvement of state and local animal health specialists with USDA emergency response staff, better security systems at food processing plants and more vigorous checking of seasonal workers, among others.

A new view

"Homeland security requires all of us to develop a new view," Minn-Dak Sugar Cooperative Chairman Victor Krabbenhoft said in his address at the co-op's most recent annual meeting in Fargo, N.D. Krabbenhoft said the impact of the terrorist attacks on America have reverberated deeply throughout all of agriculture.

American agriculture must remain strong, he said, "particularly in a world where we now know our own vulnerability to a new form of warfare--one that is fought in the shadows, one where the battle front moves at the whim of unseen foes. One day, that battlefront could well be our food supply."

Krabbenhoft warned against becoming dependent on foreign nations for vital agricultural commodities, which could be disrupted if a war or boycott suddenly cut off that supply, as occurred previously with oil.

Jim Erickson, spokesman for Southern States Cooperative, Richmond, Va., said his cooperative believes the threat is real and is thus taking steps to better secure its operations. "Before 9-11, we already had taken a number of security steps. In the aftermath, it basically was an issue of reiterating and/or putting more emphasis on what we had been doing," he said. "For example, we already had procedures in place for recording sales of ammonium nitrate. In keeping with the FBI's request after 9-11, we added record keeping on urea sales."

Southern States also sent out guidelines for keeping fertilizer supplies, chemicals, petroleum products and rolling stock more secure--including the use of alarms at some locations. "Post 9-11, we've added alarm systems at some additional locations and maintained our emphasis on ongoing security steps."

National security and the safety of customers and their communities is the first concern for Agriliance, the fertilizer joint venture of CHS, Land O' Lakes and Farmland Industries. In the January issue of "Cooperative Partners" magazine, Agriliance CEO George Thornton says co-ops and farmers should "check your buildings, fences, lighting and locks, and provide combinations to local law enforcement officials.

"Also, re-establish contact with local law enforcement agencies that would be called in the event of product theft or tampering," he added. "Ask them to make your facilities part of their routine daily safety patrols."

Brad Gottula, Land O'Lakes Farmland Feeds director of quality assurance and regulatory compliance, makes similar suggestions. "If you transport, manufacture or store commercial feed, be vigilant for any suspicious activity and be proactive in preventing problems before they occur," he says in the article. For dairies and hog farms, limiting visitors is the first step, followed by monitoring and testing on a regular basis. Buying new animals from a known source and segregating them early on is also good advice.

Attacks remind U.S. of energy vulnerability

Rep. Charles Stenholm of Texas, who also addressed the Farm Credit Council annual meeting, said Americans have long believed that they have a right to cheap energy, but that the terrorist attacks should have jogged everyone into a sense of a new reality regarding energy.

"We had better recognize that we need to produce all of the energy we can, as efficiently as we can," Stenholm said. "We cannot do that with cheap oil." Ethanol, wind and solar power cannot compete with oil that sells for $10 or $15 per barrel, he said.

"But with $25 oil, you will have the entrepreneurs of the world coming forward," he said.

Agriculture and the oil industry should work together, Stenholm said, adding that there is really no reason for the oil industry to oppose the development of a U.S. grain-based ethanol industry. "We need all the energy we can get," Stenholm said. "I thought we learned that in Desert Storm. We did, but it only lasted about six months.

"I was just reading a book on Osama bin Laden, written in 1999, and it's scary folks. I recommend it for every one of you. Agriculture will play a bigger role in energy production. And it is moving in that direction, but it requires some policy give and take."

--By Dan Campbell, editor

John Dewey, CF Industries Inc.

Sarah Schmidt, Farmland Industries Inc.

Gail Thuner, USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Business - Cooperative Service
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