Damage Assessment and Economic Loss Estimation for Agricultural Commodities, Materials, Structures, and Machinery Following Weather and Other Disastrous Events -- A USDA NIFA Special Needs funded project

Friday, January 20, 2012  ---  2:00 - 3:00 PM (ET)

Connect to the Training Webinar at:  http://msues.adobeconnect.com/agdamage/

When disasters cause damage to animals, crops, farm structures/facilities, stored materials, and machinery/equipment, it is important to be able to accurately assess the scale of the damage and determine the economic loss caused by the disaster.  Most common agricultural disasters are weather related; such as flooding, drought, wildfire, hail, freezing, and wind.  Diseases can cause significant damage and economic loss to animals and plants.  Damage can also occur as the result of accidental or intentional human actions; such as misapplied pesticides, contaminated feed or water, or the intentional introduction of a bioagent that results in economic losses for agricultural producers/growers. 

The Ag Damage Assessment Form provides a standardized method for individuals who are interested in determining the extent of damages to agricultural commodities and structures.

WHAT IS THE Ag Damage Assessment Form?
The Ag Damage Assessment Form provides a structured format and instructions for teams or individuals to more accurately collect the important information, assess the damage, and determine an accurate economic loss estimate. 

Regardless of the intended use of disaster loss information, the completion of this Ag Damage Assessment Form can provide rapid and accurate information for those interested in damage assessment and economic loss.

WHAT IS THE VALUE IN USING THE Ag Damage Assessment Form?
By completing an Ag Damage Assessment Form to document the extent of damages caused by a disastrous event, and by determining the value of losses, producers/growers and agencies will have more accurate information that could be used to make a State or Federal disaster declaration.  The Assessment Form includes sections to collect and assess information for each damage location site, the type of disastrous event, and specific lists of the damages, destruction, and losses for agricultural production animals, crops, facilities and structures, stored materials, and machinery and equipment.  This process will eliminate much of the guesswork and general evaluations for agricultural damage assessment.  Each section provides areas to more accurately estimate or measure the damage; to record the size or numbers of affected animals, plants, facilities, structures/facilities, stored materials, and machinery/equipment; and a method to estimate the potential economic losses.

WHO SHOULD OR COULD USE THIS Ag Damage Assessment Form?
The information collected using the Ag Damage Assessment Form could be used by FSA County Emergency Boards (CEB), Cooperative Extension, local Emergency Management Agencies, or by anyone who has need of third-party independent and accurate damage assessment information for agriculture.  The information collected using this Assessment Form could be useful for producers to document losses for insurance or tax purposes.

REGISTRATION:  There is no fee for attending this webinar

ABOUT THE AUTHORS/PRESENTERS:
Dave Filson, Extension State Program Leader-Animal Sciences, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, The Pennsylvania State University, dfilson@psu.edu Tom Ball, Center for Governmental Training and Technology, Bost Extension Center, Mississippi State Thomas M. "Tommy" Bass, Livestock Environment Associate Specialist, Montana State University Extension Stephen C. Brown, Ph.D., District Agriculture Agent , Mat-Su/Copper River Districts, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Alaska Fairbanks Michael R. Bush, Ph.D., WA State University/Yakima County, Interim County Director, Extension Entomologist Scott Cotton, CPRM, Extension Educator - (Livestock, Range and Youth), Unit Leader - Dawes County Office, EDEN Livestock Delegate, SCAP Team Member, Co- Chair UNL AgroSecurity/BioSecurity Work Group, Vice Chairman, Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, University of Nebraska, Lincoln Extension Rebecca Csutoras, Program Chief, USDA, Pennsylvania State Farm Service Agency Mike Hunter, Field Crops Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County Marilyn M. Simunich, DVM, Dipl. ACVPM, Director, Animal Health Laboratory, Division of Animal Industries, Idaho State Dept. of Agriculture


INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING THE TRAINING WEBINAR:
Access this free webinar at:   http://msues.adobeconnect.com/agdamage/  
After opening the link, "enter as a guest".  Please type your name into the text box provided, and click on "enter room." 

This webinar training will deliver audio through your computer speakers or headset.  Please connect to the webinar five minutes prior to the start time to verify your connection and audio volumes.  Keep in mind that many people will be linked into this webinar training.  To facilitate Q&A's, participants submit questions via the Chat Function in Adobe Connect.


CONTACT Shirley Gryczuk, Penn State EXTENSION, for more information about the webinar training:  phone 814-863-7235, or email  smg1@psu.edu 

The Ag Damage Assessment From and project resources are available at http://extension.psu.edu/agdamage    This webinar training will be recorded and available on-line.


PROJECT SUPPORTED BY: Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences research and extension programs are funded in part by Pennsylvania counties, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This material is based upon work supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)  - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under Award No. 2010-41210-21712.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USDA - NIFA.

In partnership with land-grant universities, and other public and private organizations, NIFA provides the focus to advance a global system of extramural research, extension, and higher education in the food and agricultural sciences