The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced the state will receive $7.3 million through the federal Farm Bill to help eradicate pests and control diseases that affect the state’s $120 billion agriculture industry.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service just released the spending plan for the pest and disease control section of the Farm Bill. The purpose of the APHIS funding is to prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests and diseases that threaten the U.S. agriculture and environment. This funding will strengthen pest surveillance, detection and identification and help mitigate these threats.
Florida-centric programs to be funded include:
- Giant African land snail mitigation
- Detector dog inspections
- Enhanced pest detection at high-risk domestic interdiction sites and marina/canal systems
- Collaborative educational and regulatory activities between the Florida, California and Hawaii agriculture departments of agriculture
- Research and development for citrus health, including producing clean germplasm
- Mitigation of a variety of pests, including the Asian giant hornet, invasive snails and slugs, exotic whiteflies, brown marmorated stink bug, and cactus moths