The Agricultural Transporters Conference (ATC) of the American Trucking Assns. (ATA) has begun a partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop and implement a "Guide for Security Management Practices in Agricultural Commodity Transportation,"
according to Charles L. Whittington, chairman of the Conference.
The partnership was announced Thursday by Jeremy Stump, director of the Office of Homeland Security for USDA.
ATC, in cooperation with the USDA, will survey 25,000 trucking companies that transport agriculture commodities throughout the United States to determine what security measures these companies have put in place since Sept. 11, 2001.
The survey will be conducted by ATA’s research arm, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). As a part of their work, ATA and the USDA will modify an existing security management practices guide for agricultural transporters and a risk assessment tool already developed by ATA for the trucking industry to tailor the guide specifically for transporters of agricultural commodities.
Whittington praised USDA for the "high importance it has given to security in the transport of agricultural commodities as a vital part of the food chain which supplies food to all Americans each and every day." The Agricultural Transporters Conference is the only national trade organization representing commercial transporters of agricultural commodities, forest and mineral products.