Be a cooperative relationship between the animal health division of the arkansas department of agriculture, (the recipient) and the united states department of agriculture (USDA), animal and plant…

The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) awarded a $492,473 cooperative agreement to the Livestock & Poultry Commission Arkansas on April 1, 2026, under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025).

The award funds national animal disease surveillance, preparedness, and response activities across Arkansas. The recipient will investigate, control, and eliminate emerging, re-emerging, endemic, zoonotic, and foreign diseases affecting animal agriculture. For cattle, the recipient will achieve state-level bovine spongiform encephalopathy surveillance goals across three OIE surveillance streams: clinical suspects (cattle over 12 months of age), emergency slaughter (non-ambulatory over 30 months), and fallen stock (dead over 30 months). The recipient will conduct tuberculosis surveillance at approximately 380 tests yearly and document results in COREONE. For poultry, the recipient will conduct approximately 60,000 avian influenza tests and 100 necropsies in commercial flocks, backyard flocks, and other designated sources. These activities protect Arkansas's 1.56 million cattle and 43,000 breeding swine operations.

The period of performance runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027. Performance takes place in Arkansas. The recipient acts as prime recipient with no sub-recipients on this award.

Be a cooperative relationship between the animal health division of the arkansas department of agriculture, (the recipient) and the united states department of agriculture (USDA), animal and plant health inspection service (aphis), veterinary services (VS). IT is mission-related goals, objectives, and anticipated objectives as well as the approach for conducting national surveillance and response for animal health activities and the related roles and responsibilities of the parties (e.g. mutual roles, VS role(s), and recipient role) as negotiated. IT will meet the needs for surveillance, preparedness, response, and outreach necessary to protect american agriculture and accomplish VS mission goals. Agriculture is an important component of the AR economy. Poultry is the top agricultural commodity and AR ranks top 5 in US broiler. AR is a COW/calf state and ranks in the top 25 of cattle production this cooperative agreement will perform the following activities. AR will investigate, control and eliminate (when appropriate) emerging, RE-emerging, endemic, zoonotic and foreign diseases that impact animal agriculture. Arkansas has approximately 1.56 million cattle and 43,000 breeding swine. This cooperative agreement will allow the continuation of surveillance and response activities to ensure animal agriculture in arkansas is protected. For cattle, AR will achieve state-level goals defined in the BSE national sampling plan. Collections should represent the three major OIE BSE surveillance streams: clinical suspects (cattle over 12 months of age), emergency slaughter (non-ambulatory over 30 months), and fallen stock (dead over 30 months). Ensure TB surveillance continues at an appropriate rate reaching approximately 380 tests yearly and document those results for electronic retrieval in coreone. For poultry, approximately 60,000 tests and 100 necropsies for avian influenza will be conducted in commercial flocks, backyard flocks, and from flocks attending fairs and shows. For sheep and goats, AR will conduct surveillance to meet or exceed the state-of-origin based scrapie surveillance annual sampling minimums of 86 sheep and 86 goats, and assist other states in meeting theirs. For swine, AR will perform and report upon baseline swine surveillance activities as enumerated in the baseline cooperative guidance document - ASF and CSF, PRV-SB, and shpa, reporting data in appropriate VS-assigned databases and/or forms as specified. The goal is to collect 500 PRV-SB samples. Develop one health partnerships within the state using methods to promote additional communication and collaboration. The deliverables and expected outcomes of this cooperative agreement are as follows. AR will complete data entry sufficient to maintain documentation and enhance surveillance (EMRS2, surveillance collaboration services (SCS coreone), nvsl lims, vsls, nahrs/nlrad). AR will develop and maintain cross-sector communication protocols between one health partners (human, animal, wildlife, and environmental health and other state and local agencies as appropriate) regarding human cases of zoonotic disease and confirmed or suspected cases of zoonotic disease in animals, including livestock and wildlife. AR will prepare, maintain, and exercise state-level plans, standard operating procedures, response templates, and guidance documents for responding to endemic, foreign, zoonotic, and emerging disease or RE-emerging disease events impacting animal agriculture. The state will perform 60,000 tests and 100 necropsies for avian influenza, meet scrapie surveillance annual sampling minimums of 86 sheep and 86 goats, collect a minimum of 500 PRV-SB samples and ensure accredited veterinarians are correctly completing TB surveillance at approximately 380 tests per year. AR will attend all local, state, regional and national meetings to discuss safeguarding animal health with stakeholders. AR livestock inspectors will inspect all livestock markets at every sale and ensure animals are identified correctly. AR will actively educate stakeholders on foreign animal disease (FAD) clinical signs and encourage prompt reporting of sick cattle, swine, poultry and other livestock animals to officials for investigation. AR will train a veterinarian as a foreign animal disease diagnostician and have that veterinarian complete comparative cervical test training for TB detection. The intended beneficiaries for this cooperative agreement are the following. Arkansas department of agriculture, arkansas livestock producers including 28,000 cattle herds comprising of over 1.85 million cattle, the producers of 43,000 breeding swine, 1,325 poultry premises, 33 livestock markets and the public by ensuring the national herd/flock are healthy and americans are consuming healthy and affordable protein. No subrecipients.