USDA to Award Up to $11.6 Million for Animal ID Projects

August, 2004 -The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is making available $11.64 million in funding for the implementation of an identification system for all livestock and poultry animals on farms and ranches.

The funding will be provided to state and Native American tribal governments to support the initial implementation of the National Premises Identification System within the area the projects are administered.

In addition to premises identification, projects may include the conducting of trials or research for the development, testing and offering of solutions for administering animal identification and the collecting of animal-movement data.

Applications for cooperative agreement funding must include a plan for developing and/or utilizing established infrastructure for outreach purposes. Emphasis will be placed on coordinating with the beef, dairy, sheep and swine industries.

Applications were due July 15, 2004. The department anticipates awarding the funding in August.

It is anticipated the $33 million requested for animal ID in the FY 2005 federal budget will contain substantial funding for additional cooperative agreements.

"We encourage state sheep association leaders and producers to coordinate with their State Department of Agriculture and with their state veterinarian in support of sheep activities within the grant application process," stated American Sheep Industry Association Executive Director Peter Orwick.

Funding application packages are available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/mrpbs/fmd/agreements_announcements.html on the World Wide Web.

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