Award purpose. This cooperative agreement is directed toward accomplishing the following objectives addressed: • approach for conducting national surveillance and response for animal health activities…

The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded the Georgia Department of Agriculture a cooperative agreement for $167,690 on April 1, 2026, under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025).

GDA will conduct national surveillance and response activities for animal health, targeting brucellosis, scrapie, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in swine and cattle. Activities include maintaining and targeting new animal disease surveillance collection sites and on-farm surveillance to meet state-of-origin sampling minimums for sheep and goats. GDA will oversee investigations of reported foreign animal disease consistent syndromes; provide surveillance, trace testing, epidemiology, logistics, reporting, communication, data entry, and outreach; quarantine and retest on-farm tuberculosis suspects and trace and test herds with slaughter suspects; and collaborate with USDA to investigate all possible tuberculosis cases in cattle. GDA will complete monthly National Animal Health Reporting System reporting through the NLRAD-NAHRS web system and will prepare, maintain, and exercise state-level plans, standard operating procedures, response templates, and guidance documents for endemic, foreign, zoonotic, and emerging or re-emerging disease events affecting animal agriculture.

GDA will conduct approximately 15 outreach visits, 40–45 animal disease and foreign animal disease investigations, and approximately 1,000 livestock market sale day visits per cooperative agreement year. The agency will deploy a diverse team including five veterinarians and three support staff in animal health, plus two program managers, two support staff, and 14 field inspectors in livestock and poultry.

The cooperative agreement runs from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, with place of performance in Georgia.

Award purpose. This cooperative agreement is directed toward accomplishing the following objectives addressed: • approach for conducting national surveillance and response for animal health activities including (swine and cattle) brucellosis, scrapie, and BSE surveillance programs. • meet the needs for surveillance, preparedness, response, and outreach necessary to protect american agriculture and accomplish VS mission goals. • 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. • complete monthly national animal health reporting system (nahrs) reporting through the nlrad-nahrs web reporting system. Activities to be performed: goals will be attained by targeting new rsss collection sites, maintaining current collection sites and on‐farm surveillance in order to meet state of origin based surveillance sampling minimums for sheep and goats. Georgia department of agriculture (GSA) oversees reported foreign animal disease consistent syndromes and ensures that USDA, VS, and GA is aware of the report and subsequent investigation in a timely manner. GDA will provide surveillance, trace testing, epidemiology and logistics, reporting and communication, data entry and outreach. All on‐farm TB suspects will be quarantined and retested; all slaughter suspects will be traced and herds tested. GDA and USDA will work collaboratively to investigate all possible TB investigations in cattle. GDA will conduct on average 15 outreach visits, 40-45 animal disease and foreign animal disease investigations, and approximately 1000 livestock market sale day visits per cooperative agreement year. GDA accomplishes this by using a diverse team to include but not limited to • animal health: 5 veterinarians and 3 support staff • livestock/poultry: 2 program managers, 2 support staff, 14 field inspectors • companion animal/equine: 2 program managers, 14 field inspectors • meat inspection section: 3 veterinarians • dairy division: 8 field inspectors • emergency management: 2 support staff deliverables and expected outcomes: deliverables are products or events to be produced from the cooperative agreement such as reports, educational materials, websites, guidance documents, publications, functional exercises, workshops, online classes, and others. The georgia department of agriculture will continue to support high risk surveillance for swine PRV & brucellosis; and will submit at least 200 samples during the cooperative agreement cycle. Cattle health quarterly accomplishment reports will be submitted. Georgia department of agriculture intended beneficiary(IES): beneficiaries of this agreement include the georgia department of agriculture, the GA cattlemen's association, the GA dairy association, the GA meat &dairy goat association and the GA cattle & swine producers and processors. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: no subawards are provided for in the FY 26 GA umbrella cooperative agreement.