USDA Provides more than $2.9 Million to Projects that Protect Washington State Agriculture and Natural Resources

WASHINGTON, February 6, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $2.9 million to Washington State as part of a nationwide effort to strengthen the country’s infrastructure for pest detection, surveillance, and mitigation, as well as protect the U.S. nursery system. Through the authority of the Plant Protection Act Section 7721, USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year. These funds will support 374 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.

“Washington has more than 35,000 farms and a majority are family-owned. They produce apples, wheat, potatoes, hops, cherries, and hundreds more agricultural products. In 2022, Washington agricultural exports totaled $8 billion,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “These projects will help Washington protect its resources and contribute to keeping our nation’s agricultural economy strong.”

These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health protection activities, including, but not limited to:

• $1,206,247 to support National Clean Plant Network foundation plant stocks for multiple crops;
• $1,097,052 to support the northern giant hornet response, including field-testing lures and traps and funding to support molecular research on invasive hornet species;
• $280,000 to survey for invasive defoliating moths;
• $191,839 to support pathway surveys for multiple invasive pests that attack agriculture in Washington;
• $191,609 to survey certified nurseries for little cherry disease;
• $120,000 to survey for grape pests;
• $135,000 to support the Exotic Pest Survey Identification Center; and
• $95,000 to support a response to the flighted spongy moth complex (a group of similar species).

Since 2009, USDA has supported more than 5,520 projects and provided nearly $870 million in PPA 7721 funding. These projects help USDA, and its partners quickly detect and respond to invasive plant pests and diseases. They also help our country maintain the essential infrastructure in place that enables U.S. specialty crop producers to have access to healthy, certified disease-free plants.

View the fiscal year 2024 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans online: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.