The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $2 million to Oregon as part of a nationwide effort to strengthen the country’s infrastructure for pest detection, surveillance, and mitigation, as well as protect the U.S. nursery system. USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year to support 350 projects in 48 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The Plant Protection Act Section 7721 gives USDA the authority to provide this funding.“Oregon has more than 37,000 farms and ranches and 15.7 million acres of farmland. It’s a major producer of hay, wheat, potatoes, and blueberries,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “These projects will help protect Oregon’s agricultural resources, which also protect our national food security.”
These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health and pest mitigation activities, including, but not limited to:• $256,243 to develop a biocontrol strategy against emerald ash borer populations in Oregon;
- $237,889 to survey for Asian defoliator moths;
- $221,000 to support National Clean Plant Network plant stocks for berries.
- $214,593 to protect strawberry nursery production in the state from invasive plant pests;
- $151,721to develop a synthetic bread dough odor to detect and manage invasive gastropods; and
- $107,584 to continue developing a biocontrol for spotted wing drosophila.
View the fiscal year 2023 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.
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