USDA Provides $1.2 Million to Support Projects that Protect Idaho Agriculture and Natural Resources

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Media Contacts: 
Cecilia Sequeira, 301-851-4054
K.Cecilia.Sequeira@usda.gov

Suzanne Bond, 301-851-4070
Suzanne.m.Bond@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, January 18, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $1.2 million to Idaho 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. USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year to support 350 projects in 48 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The Plant Protection Act Section 7721 gives USDA the authority to provide this funding.

“Idaho has about 11.5 million acres of farmland. In 2021, Idaho potatoes alone contributed more than $1.1 billion to the local economy,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “Protecting Idaho’s agriculture is vital to the state and our national agricultural economy. These projects will help Idaho protect its agricultural industry, which also protects our national food security.”

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

  • $836,565 to support potato cyst nematode research in the state;
  • $250,000 to support the Nez Perce Tribe’s survey for noxious, invasive weeds and the production and release of biological controls; and
  • $124,474 to protect the U.S. potato industry against exotic viroid pathogens impacting the potato trade.

Since 2009, USDA has supported more than 5,170 projects and provided nearly $809 million in PPA 7721 funding. Collectively, these projects allow USDA and its partners to quickly detect and rapidly respond to invasive plant pests and diseases. These projects also enable our country to maintain the infrastructure necessary to ensure disease-free, certified plants are available to U.S. specialty crop producers.

View the fiscal year 2023 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans on the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.

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APHIS protects the health of U.S. agriculture and natural resources against invasive pests and diseases, regulates genetically engineered crops, administers the Animal Welfare Act, and helps people and wildlife coexist. We also certify the health of U.S. agricultural exports and resolve phytosanitary and sanitary issues to open, expand, and maintain markets for U.S plant and animal products.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.