Of particular interest to beekeepers is “Section 12106, Veterinary Training,” in light of the Veterinary Feed Directive governing the use of antibiotics.
APHIS to Host Listening Session on Farm Bill Animal Health Provisions
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.
We recognize that many of you live outside of the Washington, D.C., area, and we hope this call-in format makes it easy for you to participate in the upcoming session and share your thoughts on implementation.
The summary pasted below provides a brief overview of the APHIS animal health farm bill related provisions. The listening session will also begin with a short briefing on the provisions followed by stakeholder comments for the remainder of the call. In order to hear from as many participants as possible, we ask that you plan to limit your comments to 2 minutes or less. If you would like to provide a written copy of your comments either before or after the listening session, you can do so by sending them to hallie.zimmers@aphis.usda.gov.
To participate in the listening session, we ask that you please register in advance by clicking on the link below and providing your name, organization and email address. Once you submit your information, you will promptly receive an email that includes the call-in number and a unique conference code to enter the call. You will also have the opportunity to join by webinar. The listening session will be recorded.
If you would like to make other colleagues aware of this event, please forward them the link below. To avoid any problems connecting to the call, do not share your unique code.
Registration Link: http://ems8.intellor.com?do=register&t=1&p=813122
We look forward to hearing from you.
AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2018 RELEVANT ANIMAL HEALTH PROVISIONS
SEC. 12101. ANIMAL DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT.
- Establishes the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP), which allows USDA-APHIS to enter into cooperative agreements with states, universities, industry and other entities on projects and research to advance animal health.
- Establishes the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB) to maintain sufficient quantities of vaccine and other countermeasures to help address an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or other high consequence foreign animal diseases.
- Reauthorizes the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) with authorized appropriations up to $30 million per year.
- Provides $30 million annually in mandatory Commodity Credit Corporation funding for all three animal health programs. Funding for the first four years ($120 million) is provided up front as no-year money.
- Of the funding provided, NADPRP must receive a minimum of $5 million for the first four years, and $18 million (of the $30 million) annually after that.
SEC. 12105. NATIONAL AQUATIC ANIMAL HEALTH PLAN.
- Removes the specific authorization for appropriations, effectively making the program permanent.
SEC. 12106. VETERINARY TRAINING.
- Adds “and veterinary teams, including those based at colleges of veterinary medicine,’’ to the existing authority for the secretary to maintain a program to train sufficient numbers of veterinarians on the diagnosis of foreign animal diseases under 7 USC 8318.
SEC. 12204. BIOLOGICAL AGENTS AND TOXINS LIST.
When evaluating whether a select agent or toxin should remain on the list, USDA-APHIS should consider the value that removing it would have on research activities for animal and plant diseases.