Ohio to Receive $873,000 in USDA Farm Bill Section 10007 Funding

Funding Supports Local Projects to Protect Agriculture and Plants from Pests and Diseases

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating $873,000 to Ohio from Section 10007 of the 2014 Farm Bill as part of its effort to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, and threat mitigation, and to safeguard the nursery production system. Overall, USDA is providing nearly $70 million in funding this year that will support 494 projects across the country.

“We are pleased to partner with Ohio to provide critical Farm Bill funds that will put innovative ideas into action and help us overcome our shared invasive pest and disease challenges,” said USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach. “Ohio is a critical partner in protecting U.S. agriculture. These projects will enable Ohio to protect its own resources, and, in doing so, contribute to USDA’s mission of keeping our nation’s agriculture economy healthy and strong.”

These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health and pest mitigation activities, including the following:

  • $528,000 to test the use of unmanned aircraft to support Asian longhorned beetle survey and sterile insect technology release efforts;
  • $168,000 to support the development of grasshopper and Mormon cricket survey tools for rangeland using remote sensing technology;
  • $110,000 for survey activity for nursery and orchard commodities, grape commodities, and Phytophthora ramorum and thousand cankers disease;
  • $67,000 to evaluate the impact of emerald ash borer on cultivated olive and

     

USDA has funded 1,849 projects with approximately $228 million in Section 10007 funding since the 2014 Farm Bill was enacted. Collectively, these projects continue to bolster our country’s safeguarding system while allowing USDA and its partners to quickly detect and rapidly respond to invasive pests and diseases. You can view the FY 2018 spending plans on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov/farmbill.

APHIS created the Hungry Pests public outreach program to empower Americans with the knowledge they need to leave these “hungry pests” behind. Visit www.aphis.usda.gov/pestsdiseases/hungrypests to learn more about invasive plant pests and diseases impacting your area and how you can help.

 

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