Pilot Test of the Animal Health Network(Formerly known as CASHN)

Animal Health Network Overview

A state adaptable, local network concept connecting underserved populations of non-

commercial livestock and poultry owners with vital animal disease related alerts and information from the State Veterinarian through their local feed retailer via the

existing Extension system for the protection of our food and agriculture infrastructure.

Non-Commercial Livestock and Poultry Owners (NLPO)• Vital but difficult audience to reach for the

protection of our agricultural infrastructure.

• How do you relay vital animal disease-related information to those who do not wish to be indentified?

How do we know that theAnimal Health Network has the

potential to work? Pilot Test Conducted in 2007

Pilot Test: Objective

• Test concept in “real world” setting

• Determine effectiveness of model

• Determine the potential number of non-commercial livestock and poultry owners reached

• Gauge perceptions on usefulness of network

The Design of the Animal Health Network Pilot Test (formerly CASHN)

Pilot Test: ParticipantsLead Extension Programs

Pilot Test: ParticipantsCollaborating Extension Programs

Pilot Test: Participants

• 6 State Veterinarians– Initiated network

• 6 Extension Points of Contact– Activated Extension educators

• 56 Extension Educators– Disseminated alert messages to feed retailers

• 108 Feed Retailers

• October 2007 – May 2008• 3 Network trials conducted in each state• One trial per month (Jan., Feb., March 2008)• Initiated by State Veterinarian

• Test messages – animal disease related• Feed retailers reported receipt of message (time

and date) from Local Extension Educator

Pilot Test: Location & Time Frame

Pilot Test: Job of Extension Educators• Collected descriptive historical customer data

from local feed retailers

• Conducted community seminars targeting non-commercial livestock and poultry owners

Additional information regarding the community seminars can be found in the PowerPoint entitled “Animal Health Network Community Seminars.”

Pilot Test Findings

Findings: Feed Retailers• 2.5 per county (local community)

• 491 customers per week– 65% were non-commercial customers

• Average of 2.07 days (49.79 hours) for the alert messages to reach the feed retailer from the State Veterinarian through the Animal Health Network.

Findings: Feed Retailers

Method by which feed retailers first receive alert messages was:

1. Phone (37%)

2. Other* (25%)

3. Fax (25%)

4. Email (13%)

Note: Text Message was never received first and of those selecting “Other”, personal delivery was the predominant method.

Findings: Feed Retailers

Top 4 sources of animal disease-related information:

1. Local Extension Educator

2. Veterinarian

3. Television

4. Print sources (i.e. newspapers, magazines, etc.)

Findings: Opinions of Feed Retailers

• Overall believed the Animal Health Network:– “Effective” in communicating animal disease information, and – “Useful” to protect underserved and non-commercial livestock

and poultry owners

• 93% Indicated the Network would increase their confidence in the animal disease-related information they receive

• 84% Believed in an actual event that underserved and non-commercial livestock and poultry owners would be reached in one week or less through the Animal Health Network

• 93% Would continue involvement in the Animal Health Network

• 82% Believed the Animal Health Network had value for their business

Findings: Feed Retailer Customers

• Top 3 Species that feed is purchased for:43% Beef Cattle, 34% Equine, and 14% Poultry

• The 4 most common ways information was relayed to customers were:1) Word of mouth

2) Phone

3) Mail

4) Notice/Flyer

Post Evaluation

• Would continue involvement if adopted by counties in state (100%)

• Believed the Animal Health Network has value for their agency (77%)

• Involvement would increase ability to reach underserved audiences (54%)

• A network using Extension to link the State Veterinarian’s office with feed stores to relay animal disease-related information is a good idea (85%)

• Increased confidence in the animal disease-related information received (69%)

Post Evaluation: Local Extension Educator

Local Extension Educator Comments

• “With the pilot project I have become better acquainted with not only the underserved, but also with the feed retailers.”

• “Extension is paramount for a CASHN system [Animal Health Network] to work. Participants of the pilot (farmers) usually checked for the Extension System (in my area) to handle the reporting. There is a sense of connection between local citizens.”

Post Evaluation: Point of Contact

All Points of Contact (100%)• Would continue involvement if adopted by counties in

state• Believed the Animal Health Network has value for their

agency• Involvement would increase ability to reach underserved

audiences• A network using Extension to link the State

Veterinarian’s office with feed stores to relay animal disease-related information is a good idea

• Increased confidence in the animal disease-related information received

Point of Contact Comments

• “There is potential for an animal disease related event/outbreak to occur which would call for a rapid response. The more we do to enhance the community's preparedness for such an event, the more we would minimize the negative impact it would have on our state.”

• “It should reach producers we do not see on a regular basis”

Point of Contact Comments

• “Of course it's a good idea. The State Veterinarian is the first to recognize a situation that calls for a rapid response. Extension has credible relationships with the audience and can be relied upon to relay dependable information to feed stores for dissemination. And most livestock owners have to buy feed and/or supplies from a vendor who will more than likely be a feed store.”

Post Evaluation: State Veterinarian

All State Veterinarians (100%)• Would continue involvement if adopted by counties

in state• Believed the Animal Health Network has value for

their agency• Involvement would increase their ability to reach

underserved audiences• Believe a network using Extension to link the State

Veterinarian’s office with feed stores to relay animal disease-related information is a good idea

State Veterinarian Comments

• “There are always going to a group of non-commercial animal breeders that are difficult to reach and CASHN [Animal Health Network] provides another tool to help notify them.”

• “Extension is in every county (almost) and producers trust them as educators. They are a great resource for many things and getting new information from Universities to producers is a proven way to increase awareness.”

Post Evaluation: Recommendations

• Pilot Test results should guide model revisions.

• Expand adoption of the Network concept.

• State-wide adoption can lead to nation-wide adoption.

• State Veterinarians, Cooperative Extension, and DHS, should review the findings for consideration of adoption across the country.

Cooperative Extension …

• …can effectively link state veterinarians with feed retailers and their customers.

– Extension has an established network of locally-based community educators

– Located in all 3,066 US counties

Animal Health Network Potential

• Reduce vulnerability of the nation’s food and agriculture production sector

• With only 70% of all 3,066 U.S. counties participating (2,146 counties)– Potential to reach 1,720,380 non-commercial

livestock and poultry owners within one week of the message receipt by local feed retailers.

Thank You! 2007-2008 Pilot Test Participants

Questions?

Contact:

Shannon Degenhart

sdegenhart@aged.tamu.edu

Or

Andy Vestal

t-vestal@tamu.edu