USDA announces millions in funding for disease preparedness

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The USDA is awarding $15.8 million to 60 projects led by land-grant universities and industry organizations within 38 states through the 2018 Farm Bill’s National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP). These grants will be used to help improve the country’s capabilities to quickly respond to and control animal disease outbreaks.

“Consistent access to safe, healthy, and affordable food is a critical need for all consumers,” said Jenny Lester Moffitt, undersecretary for the USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs, in a USDA announcement on March 15.¹ “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.”

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association,² the NADRPR grants this year will support projects that focus on the detection, preparedness, and response for the most damaging diseases that threaten livestock in the United States. The award projects will help states create and implement plans to quickly control disease outbreaks, educate responders and producers to perform crucial activities for outbreak response, educate livestock owners to prevent and understand what happens during an outbreak, and more.

Some of the chosen projects this year include:²

• National Incident Command System capacity advancement at the Michigan Department of Agriculture on behalf of the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture
• On-demand training for diagnosticians of foreign animal disease for animal disease response at Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• Targeted learning modules for the poultry industry on highly pathogenic avian influenza at the University of Minnesota
• Extending a between-farm model of transmission of African swine fever to estimate the necessary number of sample collectors in a highly swine-dense region at North Carolina State University
• A biosecurity rapid-response mobile decontamination and disinfection gate for animal disease outbreaks at the Maryland Department of Agriculture
• Preparedness for an emergency response to foreign animal diseases and mass livestock mortalities at North Dakota State University

The 20218 Farm Bill granted NADPRP funding as part of its strategy to prevent animal pests and diseases and reduce the spread and impact of possible incursion. The overall goal is to protect and expand market opportunities for agricultural products in the United States. Since NADPRP’s creation 4 years ago, the USDA has provided over $22 million to over 120 projects.²

References

1. USDA announces $15.8 million in farm bill funding to protect animal health. News release. The U.S. Department of Agriculture. March 15, 2023. Accessed April 11, 2023. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/news/sa_by_date/sa-2023/farm-bill-funding
2. USDA announces $15.8M in funding for disease preparedness, response. News release. American Veterinary Medical Association. April 11, 2023. Accessed April 11, 2023. https://www.avma.org/news/usda-announces-158m-funding-disease-preparedness-response