HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) today called for research proposals that will strengthen and grow Pennsylvania’s poultry, swine, lamb, sheep and goat farming industries, according to state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23), a member of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.
Funded by the 2019 PA Farm Bill, $375,000 is available for projects to enhance biosecurity, diagnostic testing, veterinary telemedicine and other strategies to prevent, detect and manage animal diseases and protect the food supply.
The 2019 PA Farm Bill created the Center for Poultry and Livestock Excellence, which is managed by PennAg Industries Association. The center’s board will review projects to be funded and assess their potential to meet the grant’s goals.
Funding priorities are as follows:
$250,000 will be allocated for:
- Developing innovative methods to manage disease outbreaks in humane, safe, practical and efficient ways in large-scale livestock and poultry operations.
- Practical biosecurity implementation for commercial and backyard domestic livestock operations, recognizing threats such operations face from wildlife and inherent risks operations pose to each other.
- Increase diagnostic tools available through the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory system to support food-animal production.
- Development, training and opportunities for food / animal veterinarians to explore the capability of remote telemedicine to address challenges of supporting livestock health and animal productivity in rural Pennsylvania.
Approximately $125,000 will be allocated for projects to:
- Study various culturally-based live-animal sale practices to improve disease traceability in custom-butchered animals.
- Solicitation of industry input on specific diseases to identify and estimate the economic impact on PA food-animal operations.
- Establish protocols to mediate, prevent and eradicate bed bugs on poultry farms.
Senator Yaw encouraged interested parties to apply online through PennAg Industries. Full grant proposal guidelines can be found on PDA’s website. Proposals must be received by 11AM on December 2nd, 2020. Applications whose proposals are accepted for funding will be notified by December 14th.
For more state-related news and information, visit Senator Yaw’s website at www.SenatorGeneYaw.com or on Facebook and Twitter @SenatorGeneYaw.
CONTACT:
Rita Zielonis, Chief of Staff
(717) 787-3280