USDA invests $17.6M to protect the health and welfare of agricultural animals

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of $17.6 million to advance agricultural research that protects the health and welfare of agricultural animals. These projects include high-priority research on African swine fever (ASF).

The awards include $12.7 million for 27 projects funded through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Diseases of Agricultural Animals program and $4.8 million for 10 projects funded through AFRI’s Welfare of Agricultural Animals program.

Examples of the 27 funded projects include:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists will design and evaluate ASF engineered vaccine antigens. This work will ultimately lead to development of a vaccine against ASF to aid in disease control and swine health.
• University of Missouri researchers plan to develop safer and more effective swine influenza vaccines, with the potential to reduce both animal and human influenza infections, and block potential zoonotic transmission from swine to humans.

The AFRI Welfare of Agricultural Animals program supports projects that evaluate current animal agriculture production practices and/or development of new or enhanced management approaches that safeguard animal welfare and adaption to climate change.