Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary

Iowa State University of Science and Technology received a $122,000 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 program (CFDA 10.025), awarded August 15, 2025, with completion scheduled for August 14, 2026. The agreement enhances the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) electronic messaging infrastructure by providing housing and operational support for the VHIS (Veterinary Health Information System) Message Validator and the Message Monitoring Tool, along with related message handling capabilities. These services will be performed at Iowa State University's facilities in Ames, Iowa.

This cooperative agreement supports APHIS's mission to protect U.S. agriculture from economically injurious animal diseases by improving diagnostic and surveillance communication systems within the national laboratory network. By maintaining critical messaging validation and monitoring tools, the award enables more effective disease detection and response coordination across the animal health laboratory system, contributing to enhanced biosecurity and food security infrastructure for the nation's agricultural sector.