Terrorism seems a remote threat at the 1,200-acre Arrowhead Ranch, where Clay Boscamp has run cattle for the past 40 years. The nearest urban area is Waelder, Texas, population 947, and the closest thing to a security operation is the local Neighborhood Watch. "I sure don't worry about it much," Boscamp says. "I feel pretty confident the government has made plans."
The government is scrambling to make plans, and operations such as Boscamp's have not been forgotten. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the award of $33 million (US) in three-year grants to university-based scientists to study ways to defend against agroterror: deliberate biological attacks on the nation's farms and food processors to spread panic and inflict economic losses.
The grants will fund university consortia to establish two national research centers. Nine groups applied for the grant to devise prevention, detection, and response measures against animal and zoonotic ...
