Department of Agriculture to invest $14.4 million to strengthen programs that protect animal health
Klobuchar’s 2018 legislation — the Animal Disease and Disaster Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act — established the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program and expanded the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is providing $2.6 million in funding to help Minnesota prevent and combat animal disease outbreaks. The USDA funding, made possible through Klobuchar’s legislation that became law as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, will be awarded to programs at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
“When animal disease outbreaks hit, as they have in Minnesota with avian flu, the impact is felt by farmers, rural communities, and our entire food supply chain. That’s why I worked to ensure that animal disease preparedness would be an important part of the 2018 Farm Bill,” said Klobuchar, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “These critical investments will ensure our farmers and livestock producers are better able to respond to a potential outbreak.”
More information on the program can be found HERE.
As a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Klobuchar successfully pushed for key provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill – including provisions to create an animal disease vaccine bank and disaster response program, provide more coverage and more flexible tools for dairy producers, and protect funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The final law established the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP) and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank, and expanded the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).
In March 2019 at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing entitled “Implementing the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,” Klobuchar received commitments from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to prioritize the implementation of the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank and the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP).
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