USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced major updates this week to animal health programs within the farm bill, including increased annual funding and expanded investments made possible by the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act. Through the act, funding for the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP), National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) and National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB) increased from $30 million to $233 million beginning in fiscal year 2026. This strengthens the nation’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to high-consequence animal diseases.
NADPRP helps safeguard U.S. agriculture by funding projects that better prepare government agencies and the industry to respond to diseases like New World screwworm, highly pathogenic avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as well as emerging threats such as the Asian longhorned tick and Theileria orientalis Ikeda, a parasite transmitted by the tick that causes a severe and currently untreatable disease in cattle. APHIS has committed $80 million through NADPRP to state departments of agriculture, state animal health officials, regional animal disease response organizations, and producer and veterinary organizations for preparedness efforts.
NAHLN is a nationally coordinated network of federal, state and university laboratories that provide rapid, reliable diagnostic testing for both foreign and endemic high-consequence animal diseases. APHIS has provided $10 million in funding to NAHLN labs and will award an additional $10 million in 2027 for operational support. These investments ensure the network has the personnel and resources needed to conduct its work.
NAVVCB allows APHIS to stockpile critical vaccines and veterinary countermeasures for diseases like FMD. APHIS has invested more than $85 million in NAVVCB since 2020 and will significantly expand purchases in 2027, with more than $153 million in new investments for FMD vaccine antigen concentrate and diagnostic test kits or other countermeasures for high-consequence diseases.