Poultry production schedules are precisely managed, complex and intricately dependent on timely movements. If product movements are delayed, not only is the system disrupted, but the cost of production may also increase and carcasses or products may lose their value. Since birds continue to grow in spite of stopped movements, the quality of the production system may deteriorate, flocks can become overcrowded and their living environment may be degraded. Collectively, these unintended consequences on uninfected farms can and have resulted in business failure. The Secure Turkey Supply Plan (STS) aims to prevent these unintended consequences from affecting uninfected farms caught in Control Areas and under the stop movement orders that are used to control an outbreak. STS risk assessments identify pathways through which an outbreak might be spread via the movement of a specific product, incorporate mitigation steps that can minimize risk and then assign a risk category to the movement.

Through this process, the Secure Food Systems Team together with the Turkey Sector Working Group has defined pathways through which products from uninfected farms may be moved with known risk. Understanding risk allows responders to guide movements appropriately, preventing the spread of an outbreak as well as business failure.