The U.S. livestock and food sectors, which account for more than $150 billion in annual cash receipts, are under continual threat from outbreaks of foreign and emerging animal diseases. Since 2002, these agricultural assets have been protected in part by the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).

NAHLN is a network of federal, state and university-associated veterinary diagnostic laboratories that provides ongoing disease surveillance; responds quickly to disease events; communicates diagnostic outcomes to decision makers; and has the capability and capacity to meet diagnostic needs during animal disease outbreaks.

Originally composed of 12 accredited laboratories, NAHLN has grown to include 60 laboratories distributed throughout the United States that are capable of testing large numbers of samples for specific disease agents.  Read more here.

Tollett Lab Director Randy Moore and microbiologist Amy Chapman analyze samples in the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.Credit: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Food Safety Outreach Program FY 2023 RFA Technical Assistance Webinar

Last month, NIFA hosted a webinar to discuss the FY 2023 Request for Applications for the Food Safety Outreach Competitive Grants Program (FSOP). Learn about FSOP priorities and requirements and other essentials for applying to the program. Topics include an overview of the FSOP, an introduction of the new Technical Assistance – Grant Writing Skills Project program area, adhering to the RFA and the evaluation criteria, and grant writing fundamentals. Watch the recording here.

Food Safety Outreach Program FY 2023 RFA webinar graphic.

Registration Now Open for 2023 Agricultural Outlook Forum

USDA’s 99th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum will be held in-person at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on February 23-24, 2023, and all sessions will be livestreamed. More than 30 sessions and 100 agriculture leaders and subject matter experts will discuss key issues impacting the sector. Learn more about the Forum and register here.

2023 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum graphic.

NIFA-Funded Researcher Spotlight: Maria Carlota Dao

Learn more about Dr. Maria Carlota Dao, who is an assistant professor with the agriculture, nutrition and food systems department at the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) College of Life Sciences & Agriculture and a scientist with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at UNH. NIFA funding supports some of her projects which focus on biological, environmental, psychological and social barriers to weight management and glycemic control in U.S. Hispanic/Latino communities. Read more here.

Dr. Maria Carlota Dao (center) works with master’s student Brandy Moser (left) and undergraduate alum Jason Hansen ’22.

Protecting the Beloved Poinsettia 

Native to Central America, poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) has become one of the most beloved holiday plants in the United States. NIFA supports poinsettia production via the IR-4 Project. Established in 1963 by USDA, the IR-4 Project ensures that specialty crop farmers have legal access to safe and effective crop protection products. The IR-4 Project operates as a unique partnership between NIFA, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the agrochemical industry, commodity groups and growers. Read more here. 

Close up of a poinsettia. Courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Read More:
Impacts of NIFA-funded research and Extension programs on our blogs page.

Food and Agricultural Education Information System Presentation

On January 23 from 1 to 2 p.m. EST, Dr. Pete Ziegler will discuss the Food and Agricultural Education Information System (FAEIS). FAEIS is a federally mandated survey that compiles nationwide higher education data for the life, food, veterinary, human, natural resource and agricultural sciences. This data includes student enrollment, degrees awarded, transfer and placement at all degree levels by gender and race/ethnicity. FAEIS also collects faculty counts and salaries by gender, race/ethnicity and rank. Dr. Ziegler and the FAEIS team will demonstrate the uses and impacts of this database and provide updates and their vision for its future use. Learn more and register here.

NIFA webinar graphic.

Melotto Lab at UC Davis Seeks Mighty Lettuce

Maeli Melotto and her team at the University of California-Davis Department of Plant Sciences are looking for strains of lettuce that are genetically stronger at resisting bacteria that can make people sick. Their work has led to the identification of a gene that could play a role in the plant’s susceptibility to E. coli, a bacterium that causes potentially lethal intestinal illness. This work is funded in part by a five-year grant from NIFA.  Read more here.

Lettuce plants. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Can Kelp Help? Research Examines Dairy Farmer, Dairy Nutritionist Attitudes on Adding Feed Additive to Cut Methane Emissions

Emerging research finds that feeding certain species of algae (seaweed, kelp or microalgae) to cattle can reduce their methane emissions by 80 to 99%. Unfortunately, most farmers and bovine nutritionists are unfamiliar with algae-based feed supplements, and the supplements are not always available and can be expensive. Researchers at Syracuse University have been surveying and interviewing conventional and organic dairy farmers, as well as dairy nutritionists, about their knowledge of algae-based feed supplements, the level of interest farmers and nutritionists have in feeding the supplements, and the barriers faced in implementation. Read more about this NIFA supported research here.

Dairy cattle eating. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

USDA Developing New Tools to Identify COVID Virus in Wild and Domestic Animals

USDA scientists are developing new tests and tools to identify and track the COVID virus and its variants in wild and domestic animals. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is currently implementing a $300 million provision in the American Rescue Plan Act to monitor susceptible animals for the COVID virus. Through this initiative, APHIS is partnering with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) on five research projects to improve understanding of the virus and to help USDA accomplish its goal of building an early warning system to potentially prevent or limit the next zoonotic disease outbreak or global pandemic. Read more here.

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Visit USDA for additional USDA news.

To help improve the organic sweet potato industry, Clemson University researchers have received a NIFA Organic Transitions Program grant to help give organic farmers new weapons to use against weeds and nematodes.

Researchers in the Salinas Lab at the University of New Mexico's Department of Biology have discovered an immune structure in the nasal cavities of rainbow trout that scientists previously didn’t think existed. The new knowledge will allow fish immunologists to better understand the efficacy of aquaculture vaccines.