The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $1.5 million to Oregon as part of its effort to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, and threat mitigation, and to safeguard the U.S. nursery production system. Overall, USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year to support 372 projects in 49 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. USDA provides this funding under the authority of the Plant Protection Act Section 7721.
“Oregon has more than 37,000 farms and ranches and more than 15 million acres of farmland. Protecting Oregon’s agricultural industry is critical,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “These projects will help Oregon protect its resources and contribute to keeping our nation’s agricultural economy strong.”
These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health and pest mitigation activities, including, but not limited to:
- $237,639 for Asian defoliating moth survey;
- $122,139 to develop a biocontrol for invasive scarab populations;
- $122,029 to develop a biocontrol for spotted wing drosophila;
- $167,247 to survey certified prunus nurseries for the causal agents of little cherry disease;
- $109,496 for next-generation sequencing to verify plant materials in certification programs are virus-free;
- $122,000 to support invasive plant pest and disease surveys; and
- $107,000 to support National Clean Plant Network plant stocks for berries.
View the fiscal year 2022 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans on the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website at www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.
