Category Archives: USDA

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the appointment of Alfred V. Almanza as Administrator of FSIS, overseeing the regulation of meat, poultry and processed egg products. Mr. Almanza has been in a limited term appointment as Administrator of FSIS since July 2007. In this position, Mr. Almanza leads FSIS and its more than 9,500 employees in their mission of protecting public health through food safety. The appointment is subject to final approval from the Office of Personnel Management.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and other USDA officials dedicated the final component of the National Centers for Animal Health (NCAH). The cutting-edge center provides laboratories, offices, animal space and administrative space for some of the nation’s top animal health scientists and researchers. The dedication marks the completion of long-term project to consolidate three USDA units previously operated separately at Ames, resulting in better cost savings for America’s taxpayers and employing about 700 people.

The USDA has announced plans to abandon the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and will develop a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability.

The USDA implemented a voluntary swine influenza surveillance program on May 22, 2009. The program analyzes samples submitted to National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) labs for the presence of influenza viruses. Diagnostic samples are subjected to a variety of tests to confirm the presence of influenza virus and differentiate the particular strain involved.

USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service has adopted a final rule geared toward the very limited practice of feeding garbage to swine.

The USDA has launched the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) which was created under the 2008 Farm Bill and replaces the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). NIFA will continue CSREES’ role in extramural research.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack called a news conference last week to remind media outlets that the continued use of the misnomer “swine flu” to describe the H1N1 virus is inaccurate and contributing to continued harm to the swine industry.

The USDA instituted a voluntary surveillance program on May 22, 2009 to test samples submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories for the novel H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Virus. To date, 114 swine samples have been submitted to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) for testing and all have been negative.

Facing resistance from food animal owners and pressure from Congress, federal agriculture officials are reconsidering how the national animal disease tracing system is structured.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that through the Obama Administration’s ‘United We Serve’ initiative, veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary students can participate in the National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps (NAHERC). NAHERC, a program of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), ensures that critical veterinary staffing needs are met during the response to exotic disease outbreaks and other disasters which affect livestock, poultry, companion animals, and wildlife.