$11.64 Million Awarded for Animal ID Projects

August 6, 2004 -- Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman on Thursday announced the selection of 29 state and tribal projects to receive a total of $11.64 million to advance the national animal identification initiative.

?This first phase of funding ? takes us closer to our goal of implementing a national animal identification system (NAIS) for all U.S. livestock and poultry animals,? stated Veneman.

Besides registering premises and establishing necessary data transfer procedures, many states and tribes will also conduct field trials or research in order to test and fine-tune ID technologies and collect animal movement data.

A full listing of the funded projects can be located online at: Projects Funded. As agreements are finalized, a brief synopsis of the projects will be posted to the APHIS Web site at: Project Summaries.

USDA?s ultimate goal for the NAIS is to gain the ability to identify all animals and premises that have had direct contact with a foreign animal disease or disease of concern within 48 hours of discovery.

The President?s FY2005 budget calls for $33 million for NAIS. A portion of these funds will be used to finance additional cooperative agreements.

Several of the cooperative agreements that have been funded in this fiscal year have inclusions for work with sheep and premises that manage sheep.

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