The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $4.7 million to Florida 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.“Florida’s 47,500 farms and ranches span 9.7 million acres. It’s a major producer of oranges, strawberries, tomatoes, and melons,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “These projects will help protect Florida’s agricultural industry, which by extension protects our national food security.”
These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health protection activities including, but not limited to:
- $1.2 million to support detector dog inspection and domestic pest detection;
- $1 million to survey for invasive fruit flies in the state;
- $422,188 to support clean plant programs for citrus and grapes;
- $349,154 to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registration requirements for Verticillium nonalfalfae use as a biopesticide to manage the invasive tree of heaven;
- $250,000 to establish and test Brazilian peppertree biological control;
- $215,030 to develop biological control agents for use against Cogongrass; and
- $160,000 to survey tomatoes in the state for destructive, invasive pests.
View the fiscal year 2023 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans on the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.
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