Plant Biosecurity Mitigation Priority List
Purpose: As a producer, you are in the best position to judge which hazards and risks make your operation the most vulnerable to a devastating
plant biosecurity outbreak or other emergency situation. This form will help you (a) assess the impact of potential threats to your operation and (b)
establish a list of mitigation priorities for you operation.
Before you begin: Please complete a thorough risk assessment of your agricultural operation. For your convenience, EDEN offers a Risk
Assessment Checklist to help you identify hazards and risks that make your operation vulnerable to intentional and unintentional plant biosecurity
problems. A copy of the checklist may be downloaded from EDEN’s Plant Biosecurity Management course. Please refer to the main EDEN Web site
for additional information: http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/eden/default.aspx
Part 1 Instructions: Make a copy of this page to use as a worksheet, or create a similar form on a separate piece of paper. Carefully review the
results of the risk assessment you conducted on your operation. On a copy of this form, list your potential security and biosecurity risks in column A.
In column B, on a scale of 1-5, estimate the probability that a biosecurity event or other emergency situation may result from the hazard or risk you
identified. For example, “1” indicates a low probability of a plant biosecurity problem or other emergency situation; “5” represents a high probability.
In columns C, D, and E, for each hazard or risk, estimate the potential impact on human life, your assets, and your crops. For example, a rating of “5”
in column E would represent the severest damage to crops or the severest economic loss to your operation. Next, add the points across each row
and place each sum in the “Total” column. The resulting numbers in the “Total” column reflect which hazards and risks have the greatest potential for
impact on your operation and therefore should be targeted for mitigation. In other words, the highest numbers in the last column are an indication of
your most threatening conditions.
A
Example: XYZ hazardous situation
C
D
E
Estimate the
probability of
an event due
to the risk or
hazard
Estimate the
potential for
human
injury or
death
Estimate the
potential for
damage to
buildings &
other assets
Estimate the
potential for
crop
damage &
loss of
income
1=Low
1=Low
5=High
3
5=High
1
1=Low
5=High
1
TOTAL
In this column, list biosecurity risks
and hazardous situations
identified by the shaded boxes on
your risk assessment checklist
B
1=Low 5=High
5
10
Note: Although estimates are subjective, this list is a good tool for prioritizing mitigation activities. This form is adapted from information provided by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry (2004).
Electronic Instructions: You may also complete this form on your computer. Type a brief description of each risk in the Column A. Type your
estimates columns B, C, D, and E. Place the sum of each row in the last column. When you are finished, save and print your form. Consult the help
feature of MS Word to learn how to set up an automatic sum formula for the rows in this table.
Part 2 Instructions. Make a copy of this page to use as a work sheet, or create a similar form on a separate piece of paper. In the left column, list
the problems you wish to mitigate. In the next column, make notes about how you will approach the problem and what supplies you will need to
mitigate the problem. In the third column, set a completion date. In the final column, place a check mark next to each risk or hazard you mitigated.
In this column, list your risks with the
highest impact scores from the “Total”
column on the previous page:
Example: XYZ hazardous situation
In this column, describe how to mitigate the risk
and list necessary supplies (if any):
Develop new procedures and train employees on
XYZ hazardous situation
Targeted
Completion
Date (Goal)
Done

January
2005
NOTE: Ideally you will want to first mitigate all of your “high-impact” problems-those that place you at the greatest risk for intentional and
unintentional plant biosecurity problems. Realizing this approach is not always feasible, consider revising this form. List potential problems by the
cost of the mitigation strategy. For example, first list the risks and hazards that are no cost or low cost for you to mitigate, such as security
procedures and scouting fields. Next, list your medium-cost mitigation strategies, such as installing locks on all buildings and fuel and anhydrous
tanks. Finally, list problems with the costliest mitigation strategies that will have to be addressed as financial resources permit, such as installing
security gates or cameras.
Electronic Instructions: You may also complete Part 2 of this form on your computer. Type brief descriptions in each cell. If you find it easier, in the
last column you may type an “X” for completed tasks instead of inserting a checkmark ( ) symbol.