USDA Provides more than $3.7 Million to Projects that Protect Washington State 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 $3.7 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. 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.
 

“Washington has more than 35,000 farms and a majority are family-owned. They produce apples, wheat, hops, cherries, and hundreds more agricultural products. Agriculture and food processing provide more than 164,000 jobs in the state,” 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:

  • $1,263,350 to support National Clean Plant Network foundation plant stocks for multiple crops;
  • $992,766 to support the northern giant hornet response, including molecular research;
  • $280,000 to survey for Asian defoliator moths;
  • $120,000 to survey for grape pests;
  • $125,000 to support the Exotic Pest Survey Identification Center;
  • $142,000 to support a response to the flighted spongy moth complex (a group of similar species);
  • $172,893 to support pathway surveys for multiple invasive pests that attack agriculture in Washington; and
  • $166,725 to survey for little cherry disease.

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.