The US Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) has chosen the Roam Secure Alert Network (“RSAN”) Continuity of Operations Edition for emergency communication among senior USDA officials and hundreds of employees at its US Headquarters in Washington, DC. USDA joins several other Federal agencies to deploy RSAN for emergency communication and continuity of operations, including the US Department of Health and Human Services and several undisclosed federal agencies. RSAN is an emergency communication and Terrorism Early Warning system specifically designed to enable first-responders, government agencies, private industry officials and the public to communicate quickly and reliably via email, blackberry, cell phone (via SMS), pagers and desktop alerts. RSAN is actively used by top-level executives and emergency personnel in several federal agencies, and by first-responders and government officials in the cities and counties of several major metropolitan regions, including Washington, DC.

The Department of Agriculture will use RSAN from its Emergency Operations Center, or via mobile devices, to alert key emergency managers and employees in the various USDA buildings in downtown Washington, DC. In the event of an emergency, USDA officials will launch alerts and track responses from top personnel on all mobile devices (cell phones, pagers, Blackberries, etc.) and e-mail within seconds. Key executives will receive important emergency alerts, such as information regarding bio-terror attacks, attacks on the Nation’s food supply, and changes to the federal terror threat level. RSAN will also help coordinate their response efforts. Additionally, officials value their 508-compliant, text-based RSAN system as a more effective tool for notifying hearing impaired and disabled employees.

USDA's RSAN system compliments its current desktop emergency alert service, the Computer Emergency Notification System (“CENS”). CENS is a desktop alerting solution that sends “pop-up” messages to all computers on a network. RSAN integrates seamlessly with this and other desktop solutions, such as WiredRed Software’s ePop Alert, providing a single platform for desktop and mobile alerting and response tracking.

The United States Department Agriculture provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science, and efficient management. The agency works to expand markets for agricultural products, enhance food safety, and improve nutrition and health by providing food assistance and nutrition education and promotion.