February 01, 2021
More than $14 million awarded to research projects
Published on January 21, 2021
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Dec. 1 announced the awarding of $14.4 million to fund 76 projects being undertaken by states, universities, and other organizations to bolster programs protecting animal health.
The 2018 farm bill appropriated millions of dollars for programs to help prevent animal pests and diseases from entering the United States and reduce the spread and impact of potential disease incursions.
It is the second year APHIS has provided funding from the $867 billion farm bill. In 2019, the agency awarded $10.2 million that funded 44 projects.
A newly funded project aims to mitigate the risks of cattle diseases.
Transboundary and emerging diseases are constant threats to the livestock industry. Even as biosafety measures have evolved, there is always the lingering threat of highly contagious or newly discovered diseases impacting animal health.
Diego Diel, DVM, associate professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, will serve as project director, and Kiril Dimitrov, DVM, TVMDL virology diagnostics section head, will co-lead this $1 million project. The project will be implemented in collaboration with the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, NAHLN, and the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NIFA.
Jan 28, 2021
Transboundary and emerging diseases are constant threats to the livestock industry. Even as biosafety measures have evolved, there is always the lingering threat of highly contagious or newly discovered diseases impacting animal health.
Through a newly funded project, researchers from Cornell University’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) aim to mitigate risks certain diseases pose to the cattle industry by developing technology to detect diseases before outbreaks occur or become widespread.
Diego Diel, DVM, Ph.D., associate professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, will serve as project director, and Kiril Dimitrov, DVM, Ph.D., TVMDL virology diagnostics section head, will co-lead the $1 million project. The project will be implemented in collaboration with the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) and the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. It is funded by
The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded over $14 million to more than 70 projects aimed at protecting U.S. livestock from disease and bolstering veterinary diagnostic capabilities.
arsenisspyros/iStock/Thinkstock A look at a Dealer Statutory Trust, help for small meat processors, Livestock Mandatory Reporting extension and animal health funds.
In the over 5,500 pages of the recent approved appropriations and COVID-relief, there are several nuggets important to those in the livestock sector including certainty that producers can recoup payment losses by establishing a dealer trust, funding for agriculture quarantine inspection services and an extension of Livestock Mandatory Reporting.
Small meat processors
The bill offers expanded resources for state-inspected meat processors through inclusion of the Requiring Assistance to Meat Processors for Upgrading Plants Act, which assists meat and poultry slaughtering and processing facilities with making improvements to allow for interstate shipment.