Enhance animal disease traceability in iowa

The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded a $230,998 cooperative agreement to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) on April 1, 2026, under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025) to enhance animal disease traceability in Iowa.

IDALS will promote electronic identification (EID) adoption by providing free EID tags to accredited veterinarians and supplying EID readers to veterinarians working in livestock markets. In FY2025, IDALS distributed 260,730 EID tags; since 2020, 168 EID readers have been purchased and distributed to veterinarians, livestock markets, 4-H programs, and state staff. IDALS will expand electronic interstate certificates of veterinary inspection (ICVI) through VetCVI, a free statewide platform for Iowa-accredited veterinarians, with a goal of achieving 100 percent electronic ICVI use across all animal disease traceability-covered species. Currently, 59 percent of certificates of veterinary inspection are issued electronically with over 300 veterinarians using the VetCVI platform. IDALS has negotiated a contract for a software system to enable centralized storage and efficient retrieval of movement documents, identification, and traceability information, integrated with VetCVI. IDALS will also establish electronic documentation systems at the Iowa State Fair and state and county livestock exhibitions to collect tag numbers electronically for required reports, provide user training, enforce animal disease traceability regulations, and continue collaborating with USDA to encourage EID adoption by producers and veterinarians.

Performance occurs in Iowa. The period of performance runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027.

Activities to be performed: the iowa department of agriculture and land stewardship (idals) will promote the use of electronic identification (EID) by providing free EID tags to accredited veterinarians and supplying EID readers to veterinarians working in livestock markets. Since 2020, 168 EID readers have been purchased and distributed to veterinarians, livestock markets, 4-h programs, and state staff. In FY2025, 260,730 EID tags were distributed. Idals will also promote the use of electronic interstate certificates of veterinary inspection (icvi) by demonstrating the benefits of this tool to accredited veterinarians and will take enforcement action when violations of animal disease traceability (ADT) regulations are identified. A contract has been negotiated for a software system to enable centralized storage and efficient retrieval of movement documents, identification, and traceability information. Idals will continue working with USDA to provide EID tags to veterinarians and encourage adoption by producers and veterinarians. The iowa state fair swine check-in currently uses EID technology and is developing an electronic records system to capture ADT information, and idals will continue to establish electronic documentation systems and provide user training. Iowa is also beginning to implement EID technology at state and county livestock exhibitions, using EID readers to collect tag numbers electronically for required reports. Additionally, idals is expanding the use of electronically searchable ecvi systems through vetcvi, a free statewide platform for iowa-accredited veterinarians, with the goal of achieving 100 percent ecvi use across all ADT-covered species. Currently, 59 percent of cvis are issued electronically with over 300 veterinarians using the vetcvi platform. Use of the new software system which integrates with vetcvi will enable centralized electronic storage of interstate movement records for efficient disease investigation. Deliverables and expected outcomes: in 2025 idals was allocated 440,000 EID tags for distribution to veterinarians and producers for use in cattle. Idals will provide quarterly reports detailing the number of EID tags and ID devices issued, and plans to distribute more than 260,000 tags to exceed distribution from the previous year. Idals will also conduct outreach to veterinarians and producers and stakeholders regarding EID tags available for swine and cattle during meetings, clinic visits, and in quarterly newsletters. These activities are expected to enhance animal disease traceability and the number of outreach activities will be reported quarterly. Idals is in the process of rulemaking to create a timeline for transition to electronic only icvis. In iowa, 59 percent of cvis are currently issued electronically. Idals will provide quarterly reports detailing the number of electronic certificates of veterinary inspection (ecvi) issued, and plans to increase this percentage to 75 percent in 2026, with transition to 100 percent in 2027. Idals will also conduct outreach to veterinarians during meetings, clinic visits, and in quarterly newsletters to help increase the number of veterinarians registered for vetcvi, iowa's electronic icvi platform. Idals will provide quarterly reports detailing the number of accredited veterinarians using ecvis, a ND the number and type of outreach activities conducted. These activities are expected to enhance animal disease traceability. Intended beneficiary(IES): nationwide, iowa is at the heart of the agriculture and livestock industries. Agriculture in iowa is more than a $20 billion industry with over 43 million livestock in at any given time. Iowa ranks number 1 for pigs (~23 million hogs) and layers (~43 million laying hens), number 4 for cattle on feed (~1.2 million), number 7 for turkeys (~11 million turkeys), number 9 for sheep and lambs (~161 ,000 head), and number 11 for dairy (~245,000 head) nationally. Activities performed by idals and USDA will allow for rapid identification of affected herds/flocks, resulting in a faster response to control disease outbreaks and strengthening the protection of the agriculture and livestock industries. Providing education on the importance of animal disease traceability, including EID tags and equipment, to accredited veterinarians supports enhanced traceability preparedness for the industry in iowa. The entire livestock industry in iowa will benefit from enhanced surveillance for program diseases and enhanced preparedness for foreign animal diseases. Idals staff are involved in work and surveillance activities at over 100 county fairs as well as at the iowa state fair. Over 1 million people attend the iowa state fair. The utilization of ecvis, EID tags, and EID readers by idals staff, producers, and accredited veterinarians in these activities allows for enhanced animal disease traceability and helps protects iowa's animal industry and also the public. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: no subawards are included. Budget: recipient personnel and fringe-- $179,900; recipient in-state travel-- $14,118; indirect costs-- $36,980