USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is allocating $15.8 million to 60 projects aimed at combatting diseases that threaten livestock. The projects are spread across 38 states.Funding will come from the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program that was included in the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Consistent access to safe, healthy, and affordable food is a critical need for all consumers,” USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt says. “These farm bill-funded preparation activities are vital to helping us safeguard U.S. animal health, which in turn allows U.S. producers to continue to feed our country and the world.”

Since 2018, NADPRP funding has been a part of USDA’s strategy to combat and prevent animal pests and diseases. The program has awarded more than $22 million to support over 120 projects so far.

These latest projects include land-grant university and industry organizations the agency hopes will enhance the nations’ ability to respond to and control disease outbreaks. They include on-demand training for foreign animal disease diagnosticians at Texas A&M AgriLife and targeted learning modules on avian influenza at the University of Minnesota.

USDA also awarded funds for national incident command system capacity advancement at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture. North Carolina State University received funding for its efforts to combat African swine fever transmission, while North Dakota State University earned a grant for its emergency response preparedness for foreign animal diseases and mass livestock mortalities program.

The National Cattleman’s Beef Association secured $445,396 to prepare for future outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease. NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Allison Rivera says the funding is critical to helping the industry continue to defend itself against that threat.

“The Secure Beef Supply Plan combined with USDA's national vaccine bank provides a strong safety net for cattle producers and multiple tools to mitigate risk from a potential outbreak," Rivera said. "This funding was made available through the 2018 Farm Bill, showing why continued support and further funding for animal disease preparation measures like the Secure Beef Supply Plan and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasure Bank are so important as Congress works on the 2023 Farm Bill.”