A coalition of animal agriculture stakeholders is seeking permanent funding for disease preparedness programs in the farm bill.
In a letter to the farm bill conferee members, who will be ironing out differences between the House and Senate bills, the group specifically seeks permanent full funding for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program. The groups say permanent funding is “critical “ as an outbreak of a foreign animal disease, such as Foot and Mouth Disease or Avian Influenza, “has the ability to cripple the entire agricultural sector and create long-lasting ramifications.” The letter says recent studies indicate that the cumulative 10-year loss due to an uncontrolled FMD outbreak would be $199.8 billion.
The coalition includes more than 100 state and national livestock, veterinary and animal health organizations.
Source: National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.