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Writer's pictureArt Ruiloba

College of ACES Video Producers Collaborate with Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Prep

During the spring of 2022, our video unit from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) in the Department of Innovative Media Research and Extension, collaborated with staff from the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center (SWBFPEPC) with the Border States Agriculture Tabletop Exercise (BSA TTX) training project.

As stated in their executive summary their goal was “to allow participants the opportunity to clarify roles and responsibilities, identify gaps in policy, training, planning, exercise and resources, and improve intra-agency and inter-agency coordination and performance.”

The SWBFPEPC conducted the training, and the video unit provided a variety of video clips to support the training. As written in the BSA TTX executive summary, “The video clips enhanced exercise play by providing additional background, increasing interactivity and simulating real-world events such as breaking news stories and coverage of social media traffic.”

Video producers Art Ruiloba and Tomilee Turner collaborated with Tom Dean and Marshal Wilson, Co-Directors for SWBFPEPC, and Dr. Shannon L. Norris-Parish, Assistant Professor in Agricultural and Extension Education, on this project. Dr. Norris-Parish is one of three professors and ACES faculty serving as a member of the SWBFPEPC.

A building with a picnic bench and trees outside. On screen text reads: Unión Ganadera Regional de Chihuahua Santa Teresa Livestock Border Crossing. In upper right hand corner says "For Exercise Purposes Only".
A scene from the video.

At the inception of the project, the video unit received a tour of the Santa Teresa International Border Livestock Crossing. The duo learned the U.S. facility has been in operation since 1991 and has the capacity to cross 5,000 livestock per day. It is operated by the Unión Ganadera Regional de Chihuahua, a union-cooperative comprised of livestock producers from throughout the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The union also operates the livestock facility on the Mexican side of the border, known as Jeronimo. They work with agencies and people from the U.S. side of the border. The director of the facility, Daniel M. Manzanares represents the U.S. and coincidently, is a NMSU alumni. He organized the tour and allowed the video crew access to the entire facility.


On screen text reads: Livestock imports and exports involve several Mexican and U.S. inspection agencies. Logos for Inspection agencies shown. Upper sight hand corner says "For Exercise Purposes Only".
List of Inspection Agencies

The crew also learned that the union operates the facility under the supervision of United States authorities, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the New Mexico Livestock Board. These agencies work with their Mexican counterparts throughout the whole process.

The media unit videotaped the entire facility grounds and gave training participants an in-depth perspective and understanding on how cattle is crossed, processed, sorted and transported to their destinations.


Cattle being moved, gathered, and sorted.


Art and Marshal stood smiling in front of a trailer.
Art Ruiloba and Marshal Wilson (L to R). Photos provided by Dr. Shannon Norris-Parish.

These video clips from the livestock crossing were used at the beginning of the video training modules to set-up a hypothetical emergency scenario where a possible

Top of photo shows a map of states with FMD outbreak expansion. On screen text reads: FMD outbreak. bottom on screen text reads: Day 6- Response to the surveillance/trace-out associated with a FMD outbreak in New Mexico. Expanding FMD outbreak in six states. Upper right hand corner reads: For Exercise purposes Only
Map of FMD outbreak points

outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease may have occurred within the imported cattle. An investigation concluded that the disease had been introduced by a malicious character (played by an actor) who planted an infected rag into a cattle trailer on the U.S. side of the border. Simultaneous, a cyber-attack on the State of NM database impeded the collaborating agencies’ ability to deal with the emergency situation.


Right side shows Kathryn. Left side news article reads: Infected Cow, Northeastern New Mexico, Test + for Foot-and-Mouth Disease, More + cases in other states. Upper right hand corner reads: For Exercise Purposes Only.
Student Kathryn Petty Reporting

Natalia center screen in a phones screen boarder. On screen text reads: Marlee Wilson, Social Media Influencer.
Student Natalia Molinar Reporting

actor shown center screen through holes of a horse trailer with a camera graphic overlay. Upper left hand corner text reads: Security Footage. Upper right hand text reads: For Exercise Use Only
Actor caught on camera

Participants in the training represented the four border states: Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, as well as others from multiple federal, local, private and NGO entities.

The media unit also provided other video clips for other training modules that focused on engaging participants in the areas of emergency management, animal health, cybersecurity and public information disciplines.


Natalie, Tomilee, Art, and Kathryn pose for a photo with a camera in between them in the studio.
Natalia, Tomilee, Art, Kathryn (L to R). Photos provided by Dr. Shannon Norris-Parish

To accomplish the public information portion of the training, the video unit utilized the acting talents of two Agricultural & Extension Education students, Kathryn Petty and Natalia Molinar, who volunteered their time on camera, and were videotaped on campus. Several scenes were videotaped at the KRWG-TV studios. Joe Widmer, Production Manager, and Christian Valle, Sr. Tv Producer at KRWG-TV, assisted the media unit with logistics at the tv studio. Other scenes with Natalia were videotaped at the College of ACES livestock pens.


For more information about the role of the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center, visit their website at: https://aces.nmsu.edu/preparedness/index.html




Written by: Art Ruiloba, Video Production Specialist, Innovative Media, Research & Extension


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