USDA Provides Pest, Disease Aid

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA will support 321 projects in all 50 states, American Samoa, and Guam, to help prevent the introduction or spread of plant pests and diseases threatening U.S. agriculture and the environment. The funding, totaling $50 million, is provided by the 2008 Farm Bill.

“We are committed to partnering with our stakeholders to achieve our mutual goals of identifying and mitigating threats to American agriculture, enhancing our emergency response capabilities, and increasing public awareness of the danger of invasive pests and diseases,” said Vilsack. “American agriculture supports 1 in 12 jobs in the United States and provides safe, affordable food to consumers. I am confident that the selected projects will help our farmers, ranchers, and foresters continue to flourish and build upon these successes.”

Over the last three years, over 600 Farm Bill projects have helped to protect American agriculture and educate the public about the threat of invasive species. Examples include:

– developing eLearning modules for pest screening and increasing diagnostic capacity;

– training canine teams to conduct domestic surveillance activities;

– supporting the 2011 national survey of honey bee pests and diseases;

– and developing the Hungry Pests campaign —a targeted, nationwide invasive pest public awareness campaign.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) made a concerted effort to solicit project suggestions from states and U.S. territories, universities, federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private companies, and tribal organizations. These projects will strengthen protections against agricultural threats and allow states to reallocate resources to other critical programs during these tough economic times.

Examples of specific projects include, among others, a nationwide survey of honey bee pests and diseases, the monitoring of high-risk international and domestic pathways for invasive species, applied research to combat citrus pests, the development of detector dog surveillance programs in certain high-risk agricultural states, and targeted invasive species public outreach.

The FY 2012 funding plan, list of selected projects, and general feedback are posted here: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/section10201.

APHIS engaged stakeholders, such as the National Plant Board, Specialty Crops Farm Bill Alliance, and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and U.S. Forest Service, in designing the evaluation criteria for the suggestions. More than half of the suggestion reviewers came from outside of APHIS.

Suggestions were evaluated on their alignment with Farm Bill goals, the expected impact of the project, and the technical approach. In addition, the reviewers considered how the suggestions would complement ongoing USDA programs and other Farm Bill projects.

Funded projects were organized around six areas: enhancing plant pest/disease analysis and survey; targeting domestic inspection activities at vulnerable points in the safeguarding continuum; enhancing and strengthening pest identification and technology; safeguarding nursery production; enhancing mitigation capabilities; and conducting outreach and education about these issues.