Summary

The Missouri Department of Agriculture received a Cooperative Agreement award of $299,994 from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the FDA Research program (CFDA 93.103), effective August 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028. This award supports the maintenance and implementation of the Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFRPS) within Missouri's Feed and Seed Program, which operates under the Division of Plant Industries. The Department will utilize the cooperative agreement funds to sustain regulatory oversight of livestock feed and pet food sold, manufactured, and distributed throughout Missouri, including products sourced from other states. Given Missouri's substantial share of the nation's livestock and pet food production, this program is critical to protecting both domestic food supply integrity and consumer safety.

The Department will employ the funding to maintain adequate inspection capacity for risk-based facility inspections, deliver industry outreach and education, sustain staff training programs, preserve compliance and enforcement infrastructure, and enhance program productivity through improved regulatory processes. The Missouri Feed Control Laboratory, which analyzes approximately 3,000 surveillance animal food samples annually, will continue its operations under this award. Additionally, the Department is committed to strengthening collaboration with the FDA and other state feed programs through data sharing, best practice exchange, and coordination to support the nation's food safety system and prevent feed adulteration events.