This award will support animal disease traceability activities for the state of nebraska

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025) will provide $311,287.00 to support animal disease traceability activities in the state of Nebraska. The key activities to be performed include ongoing support for producers and veterinarians to implement RFID identification, promotion and training on electronic record-keeping and health certificates, and education and outreach on animal movement and identification requirements for various livestock species. The intended outcomes are to increase the number of animals with official RFID tags and the percentage of properly documented animal movements, allowing the state to more efficiently and effectively trace animals during health emergencies and maintain Nebraska's disease-free livestock status. The award period is from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

These activities will continue to help protect the health and well-being of the livestock and poultry industries within the state by ensuring appropriate animal identification and accurate and efficient tracing of animal movements. The state has and continues to educate veterinarians and producers on correct implementation of the new rule, while supporting them in providing free tags, low cost readers, and equipment at sale barns. Activities to be performed: activities to be performed under this award include ongoing support of producers and veterinarians for rfid implementation, strong promotion and training of accredited veterinarians on utilization of paperless records and electronic CVI platforms, and education and outreach for accredited veterinarians and producers on animal movement and official identification requirements for poultry, cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and horses. Deliverables and expected outcomes: this goal will work to increase animal disease traceability capabilities within the state of nebraska. This will be achieved through an increase in the number of animals with official rfid tags, as well as increase the percentage of properly documented animal movements. These goals, along with ongoing implementation of electronic records, will allow the state to trace animals of concern more efficiently and effectively in the event of an animal health emergency. Intended beneficiary(IES): the benefactors of this award include the common shareholders of the state of nebraska livestock producers and the public. This award assists in the maintenance of nebraska's disease-free status, which improves the marketability of the state's livestock and livestock products. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of the award: no subrecipient activities are included in this award.