Invasive species are a major threat to biological diversity

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) received a $4.12 million Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care Federal Grant Program (CFDA 10.025) for the period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The award funds a detector dog program designed to enhance pest inspection and surveillance activities at California parcel distribution centers operated by carriers including UPS, USPS, FedEx, and Amazon. CDFA will oversee County Agricultural Commissioners' (CAC) utilization of 14 dog teams and supporting personnel to intercept actionable pests in unmarked parcels containing agricultural commodities. The program includes procurement, maintenance, and care of the dogs; monthly accuracy reviews targeting a 90% detection rating; training for dogs, handlers, and county personnel; and submission of detected samples to CDFA's Plant Pest Diagnostics Center for laboratory identification and DNA sequencing analysis.

The award addresses California's vulnerability to invasive species given the state's significant agricultural production (approximately 10.9% of national agricultural production value) and high volume of agricultural trade. Success will be measured by the number of interceptions of actionable pests in unmarked packages and the prevention of exotic pest and disease introduction that could threaten international export markets. County agricultural commissioners will also conduct community outreach, demonstrations, and workshops to support program objectives and raise public awareness regarding agricultural pest risks.

Activities

Oversee the county agricultural commissioners (CAC) utilization of the 14 DOG teams and secondary personnel support to intercept actionable pests at parcel centers like UPS, USPS, fedex, amazon, etc. Oversight also includes the procurement, maintenance and care of the dogs, ability to follow guidelines, and the submission of samples for identification. Cdfa's plant pest diagnostics center (PPDC) will perform laboratory diagnostics for pest identification and DNA sequencing. Data will be analyzed to determine the highest priority facilities based on the number of unmarked parcels detected by the DOG teams. Accuracy of each DOG will be reviewed each month based on the handler's daily data entry. Work will be performed with each team to achieve an accuracy rating of 90% in alerting on unmarked parcels containing agricultural materials. Training will occur for the dogs, DOG handlers, and county personnel involved. Cacs will also perform community outreach, demonstrations, workshops, and other public relations. Deliverables and expected out comes: prevention of the introduction of exotic pests and diseases, and the protection of international export markets will be measured by the number of interceptions of actionable pests in unmarked packages containing agricultural commodities, and the success of intercepting the unmarked packages. Intended beneficiary(IES): california produces about 10.9% of the country's agricultural production value ($58.4 billion) and 40% of the nation's fruits, nuts, and vegetables. In reality, the risk to california is a risk to the nation's food supply. An outbreak of disease or pest infestation could cost billions of dollars in pest eradication efforts and threaten the nation's and/or state's economy, domestic food, and fiber supply. This program will ensure that plant material shipped into california is free of significant pests and plant diseases.subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award:cacs and their personnel will maintain the dogs locally and utilize them for pest detection at parcel facilities, and assist DOG teams with collecting and sending suspect samples to the PPDC lab for identification and data collection (attachment C).