Category Archives: USDA

The National Pork Producers Council and its members spent much of the 115th Congress advocating for mandatory federal funds to better prepare for a foreign animal disease outbreak. Pork producers led a three-pronged approach to reduce and respond to disease risks: state block grants for surveillance, diagnostic funding through the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and a robust animal vaccine bank. The victories achieved in the 2018 Farm Bill for U.S. pork have been well-documented. But, what many don’t know is that the current bill includes provisions that represent the largest and, in many ways, first significant ask put forward by pork producers. President Trump signed this win for animal agriculture into law in late December. [Source: NPPC 28 Feb 2019 by Dustin Baker]

Please join APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea and members of the Agency’s Management Team on Thursday, March 21, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET for a Farm Bill Listening Session via teleconference. This listening session is an opportunity for interested State and Tribal partners as well as stakeholders to comment on the animal health provisions of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 that directly pertain to APHIS. [Source: APHIS 4 March 2019]

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced additional steps to keep African swine fever (ASF) from entering the United States, even as the disease spreads internationally. These steps strengthen the protections announced last fall after the deadly swine disease reached China. The goal remains to protect our nation’s swine industry from this disease. ASF does not affect people, nor is it a food safety issue. [Source: USDA 6 March 2019]

[Editor’s note: The following is a letter to USDA stakeholders from Mr. Kevin Shea, USDA APHIS Administrator.] On any given day, APHIS employees are working on many fronts to respond to pest and disease outbreaks, review important trade documents, prevent damage to crops and livestock by invasive species and predators, inspect field trials of genetically engineered plants, and protect certain animals, such as those used in research, that fall under our oversight. It’s a vast mission that is carried out by approximately 8,300 dedicated employees stationed across the country and around the world. While this day-to-day work is extremely important, we can’t lose sight of the long-term goals that help steer the direction of this Agency and ensure we continue to meet the needs of the many stakeholders who depend on our services. [Source: Mr. Kevin Shea, USDA APHIS Administrator, November 27, 2018]

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist Manuel Borca is the recipient of the 2018 Daniel E. Salmon Award for critical contributions to protecting world animal health against infectious diseases. [Source: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAARS/bulletins/21c91ea USDA ARS, November 19, 2018]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has agreed to lift restrictions on imports of some fresh and frozen pork from Poland that were put in place October 18, 2018 due to potential risk from African Swine Fever (ASF). After an expeditious review of export protocols, APHIS has notified Poland that we are lifting restrictions on all establishments located in the contiguous free zones. We are retaining restrictions on raw product and heat treated, but not fully cooked, product from two establishments while we complete a more thorough review. [Source: USDA, VS Deputy Administrator, October 25, 2018]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has suspended entry of imports of fresh and frozen pork and pork products from Poland while it completes a review of that country’s export protocols. Due to cases of African Swine Fever (ASF), Poland has established control, or restricted, zones and only facilities located in certain zones are allowed to export fresh and frozen pork to the U.S. Our preliminary assessment is that there is minimal animal health risk posed by any pork products imported recently into the U.S. from Poland. There is no human health risk, as humans are not susceptible to ASF. [Source: USDA Stakeholder Message, October 18, 2018]

Even though the USDA Veterinary Services underwent a significant reorganization in 2013, Dr. Jack Shere, Deputy Administrator of Veterinary Services, recently announced another restructuring of the agency effective October 15, 2018. In the following letter to stakeholders, Dr. Shere described the changes. [Source: USDA, October 15, 2018, Dr. Jack Shere]

Today, Greg Ibach, Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs, announced USDA’s four overarching goals for advancing animal disease traceability to protect the long-term health, marketability and economic viability of the U.S. livestock industry. [Source: USDA, September 25, 2018]

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of the unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods. These programs will assist agricultural producers to meet the costs of disrupted markets. [Source: USDA Press Release, July 24, 2018]