The 2026 california department of food and agriculture hpai emergency cooperative agreement funding will contribute to payment for unexpected costs arising from the disease response to the highly…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded the California Department of Food and Agriculture $164,944 in cooperative agreement funding on October 26, 2025, under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025) to cover unexpected costs arising from the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in California that began in October 2025.

Funded activities include issuance and notification of state quarantines, disease surveillance in control areas and surveillance zones, biosecurity monitoring on infected premises, oversight of euthanasia and carcass disposal, cleaning and disinfection monitoring, permitting for movement of feed and supplies, stakeholder outreach, response to sick bird reports, environmental sampling, real-time disease response reporting, and data management. Work is performed in California. The recipient will absorb state responder overtime, personnel travel and lodging, personal protection equipment, disposable disease response supplies, equipment, and contractor assistance supporting these activities.

Expected outcomes include facilitating timely resumption of poultry production and trade, promoting robust biosecurity at production facilities to minimize further transmission, enabling return to production at infected premises as soon as feasible, maintaining stakeholder and consumer education, and sustaining surveillance and investigation of suspicious sick bird reports to enable earliest detection of disease re-emergence or reintroduction.

Period of performance runs from October 26, 2025 through October 25, 2026. Obligated amount is $164,944.

Activities

Activities performed by california responders include issuance and notification of state's quarantines; disease surveillance in control areas and surveillance zones; monitoring of biosecurity on infected premises; monitoring of euthanasia of infected poultry and disposal of carcasses; monitoring of cleaning and disinfection of infected premises; approval of permits for movement of feed, supplies and products into or out of control areas; stakeholder outreach; response to sick bird calls; environmental sampling; real time reporting of disease response status; data entry and incident document management. Deliverables and expected outcomes: cooperator activities will facilitate a timely return to normal poultry production/ trade within the state and with other state trading partners to the extent possible under the circumstances; encourages and monitors robust biosecurity of production facilities to minimize further transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza; facilitates return to production by infected premises at the earliest possible opportunity; maintains outreach and education to stakeholders and consumers; and maintains highly pathogenic avian influenza surveillance and investigation of suspicious sick bird calls to allow earliest detection should highly pathogenic avian influenza RE-emerge or be RE-introduced.

Intended beneficiaries

Rapid and effective response to highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in california minimizes further transmission of disease to other premises and minimizes the impact, to the extent possible, to agriculture trade within california and with other states. This benefits the california poultry industry, as well as consumers, who continue to have access to poultry and poultry products produced within the state.