Support program disease activities in the following commodities: avian health, cattle health, sheep/goat/cervid and equine health, and swine health

The Texas Animal Health Commission received a Cooperative Agreement award of $1.74 million 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), effective April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026. The award supports comprehensive animal disease surveillance, prevention, and management activities across multiple livestock and poultry sectors in Texas. Key deliverables include active and passive surveillance at live bird markets for avian health; brucellosis education, bovine tuberculosis investigations, and cattle fever tick collaboration for cattle health; chronic wasting disease (CWD) herd certification and scrapie surveillance for sheep and goat health; equine infectious anemia (EIA) and piroplasmosis outreach and response for equine health; and brucellosis, pseudorabies virus (PRV), garbage feeding enforcement, and African swine fever/classical swine fever (ASF-CSF) surveillance for swine health.

The TAHC will coordinate with APHIS-VS (Veterinary Services) to detect and manage program diseases while conducting outreach and education to veterinarians, producers, and animal owners across the state. These activities directly support national agricultural protection efforts by maintaining disease surveillance networks, responding to suspected disease outbreaks, conducting epidemiological investigations, and training accredited veterinarians to perform diagnostic testing. The cooperative agreement demonstrates APHIS's reliance on state agencies to serve as critical partners in protecting U.S. livestock and poultry from economically injurious diseases and emerging health threats.

Activities to be performed: what activities will the recipient carry out for each award? Avian health: conduct active surveillance at live bird markets conduct passive surveillance by responding to sick bird calls and reports of domestic bird morbidity/ mortality cattle health: brucellosis-provide education, encourage abortion screening in cattle, support brucellosis EPI investigations BSE-collect samples, conduct outreach and education cattle fever tick-collaborate with cftep, ARS, tpwd, submit ticks for identification bovine tuberculosis-visit state-inspected slaughter plants; conduct outreach and training, conduct EPI investigations as needed sheep/goat/cervid/ equine health all species: investigate and test FAD and program disease suspects and investigate potential emerging disease outbreaks sheep and goats conduct active surveillance; assist with regulatory scrapie slaughter surveillance program conduct outreach and education with producers cervids implement CWD herd certification program conduct CWD education and outreach with producers conduct training and maintain lists of accredited veterinarians trained to perform single cervical and DPP testing equine conduct outreach and education to horse owners and trainers about EIA and piroplasmosis respond to detections of EIA and piroplasmosis, conduct investigations and tracing swine health swine brucellosis and PRV - conduct and report surveillance testing; investigate and trace reactors garbage feeding - conduct searches for unlicensed waste feeders ASF-CSF-collect and samples for surveillance deliverables and expected outcomes: what are the goals of the award and what evidence is required from the recipient? To cooperate with aphis-VS is detecting and managing program diseases to conduct outreach and education to veterinarians, industry, producers and other stakeholders to plan and prepare for disease outbreaks in livestock species intended beneficiary(IES): who will benefit from this beyond the recipient? Aphis and livestock producers of texas and the agriculture industry of the united states to maintain domestic food supply and international trade subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: no subrecipients