Category Archives: USDA

USDA has a new Animals Topics page which includes a diverse array of USDA animal agriculture resources and support together in one place.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) expertly navigated complex and evolving issues to protect U.S. agriculture and natural resources in 2023.

Food animal veterinarians are critical to maintaining a healthy, secure, and safe food supply and for safeguarding the health and well-being of food animals. Today, there is a growing shortage of food animal veterinarians in both private and public practice, particularly in rural communities in the United States and Insular Areas. The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) supports mitigating food animal veterinary workforce shortages states and insular areas of the United States.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), in collaboration with the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), conducted its third national study of U.S. small enterprise swine operations. The results of the study in population estimates form are now available as a dashboard.

Over 140 veterinary professionals met this week with senators, representatives, and their staffs to discuss the importance of legislation that will help increase the availability of veterinary services in rural areas and protect against the spread of diseases that pose a threat to animal and public health.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) completed its biennial review of the Biological Select Agents and Toxins (BSAT) list. As a result of this review, APHIS is proposing to remove five select agents from the BSAT list. These include: Brucella abortus, Brucella suis, and Brucella melitensis, African horse sickness virus, and Peronosclerospora philippinensis.

APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) is updating the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) Response Strategy and invites feedback from key stakeholders.

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Tuesday that it will extend time-limited trials at USDA’s New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS) establishments.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will provide up to $500,000 to Tribes and Tribal organizations to further animal disease prevention, preparedness, and response through the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP). This NADPRP Tribal Nations funding opportunity closes January 19, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the appointment of 21 new members and nine returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). The purpose of the committee is to provide impartial scientific advice and recommendations to federal food safety agencies that assures the safety of foods.