$9.5 Million Gift Boosts UF Efforts To Protect Cattle From Disease-Carrying Pests

Jun 16, 2026

By Jamie Groh

The University of Florida announced a $9.5 million estate gift establishing the Carrie W. Earls Mosquito and Pest Eradication in Beef Cattle Fund, supporting work across UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

Researchers will focus on improving pest control strategies, reducing disease risks and helping cattle producers limit economic losses, particularly in pest-prone regions like Florida. Across UF/IFAS the funds specifically benefit the UF/IFAS Department of Entomology and Nematology.

“This generous gift will allow our veterinary and medical entomologists to accelerate development of new management strategies for a host of pests, including mosquitoes and other biting flies that plague cattle and other livestock,” said Andrew Short, professor and chair of the UF/IFAS Department of Entomology and Nematology.

At the College of Veterinary Medicine, funds will support the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and CVM’s Veterinary Extension.

Source : ufl.edu

Video: ASF Control Lessons - Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith, Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria, shares what decades of work have revealed about ASF control. She explains why vaccine development remains difficult, how human activity and food waste drive disease spread, why resistant pig populations are an important research area, and how strict biosecurity with the right disinfectants can help to stop transmission. Listen now on all major platforms!

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