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New Jersey's livestock producers today face considerable challenges that must meet the demands for an affordable, safe, and wholesome food product. New Jersey's billion-dollar domestic livestock industry sells its products nationally and internationally. Here in the Garden State, producers have 48,000 cattle and calves, including 16,000 dairy animals, valued at more than $44 million and generating cash receipts of nearly $8 million for cattle and another $42 million for dairy products. In addition, the state's 15,000 hogs and pigs are worth nearly $1.3 million and generated cash receipts of $639,000; while our 12,000 sheep and lambs generated cash receipts of almost $1.3 million and are worth $1.2 million. New Jersey's equine industry is worth $3.2 billion, and brings in $700 million in revenues annually.

Recent world events have brought to light the importance of preservation of this significant economic agricultural asset. The urgency to improve livestock safeguarding has been generated by international outbreaks of Foot and Mouth disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and the national re-emergence of West Nile virus. Furthermore, the recent threats of Anthrax and other forms of bioterrorism have prompted legislative directives to provide protection to the citizens and livestock in our state.

Demands to protect these industries continue to rise in light of expansion into world markets, the presence of food borne pathogens such as E-coli and Salmonella, and significant diseases, such as Johne's disease, that impact and challenge overall animal management and their environment. An additional challenge is the specter of possible "agroterrorism" and bioterrorism that looms over food animal producers and their related industries, and threatens to disrupt the United States food supply.

The Secretary of Agriculture is an official invited member of the state's domestic security preparedness taskforce. This appointment opens the door for addressing the needs of all animals during emergency situations including outbreaks of disease. Food animal producers raising any and all species of livestock in New Jersey must become educated, now more than ever, on farm biosecurity, animal health, food safety, and emergency preparedness for possible outbreaks of disease.

This past year the Department has also worked hard on drafting for publication the Humane Standards of Care for Livestock. This initiative of the agricultural community will comprehensively address the standards of care for raising livestock in New Jersey.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the delegates to the 88th State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on January 29, 2003, support the creation of an animal emergency task force to address the needs of animal owners during a state of emergency.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we support all Livestock and Poultry Food Safety Initiatives originating from and developed by the partnership of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, including but not limited to, the New Jersey Cattle Health Assurance Program.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the livestock and poultry industries in New Jersey support these food safety/biosecurity programs, and take seriously their responsibility and obligation to the public to produce safe and wholesome food products, and strive to have in place sound animal health programs on their farms that support these actions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we support the initiative of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Walton Center for GIS, to develop, support, oversee and own a GIS database for the purpose of protecting New Jersey's livestock and poultry industry in the face of a natural or man-made disaster.