NIFA Invests Nearly $3M in Rural Food Animal Veterinary Medicine Across the U.S.

Jan 19, 2022

NIFA recently announced 17 Veterinary Service Grants Program (VSGP) Awards, seven Education, Extension, and Training (EET) grants and 10 Rural Practice Enhancement (RPE) grants to help mitigate food animal veterinary service shortages in the United States. The goals of the VSGP are to support food animal veterinary medicine through EET funds for accredited schools and organizations and through RPE funds for veterinary clinics that provide services in veterinary shortage situations. This program is designed to support education and extension activities that will enable veterinarians, veterinary students, and veterinary technicians gain specialized food animal skills and practices.

The 2014 Farm Bill authorized the establishment of the VSGP as a companion to the Veterinary Medical Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) to incentivize service in veterinary shortage situations. Ultimately, VSGP will bolster the capacity of private veterinary practitioners to provide food animal medicine in rural veterinarian shortage locations.

Source : usda.gov

Video: Advancing Swine Disease Traceability: USDA's No-Cost RFID Tag Program for Market Channels

On-demand webinar, hosted by the Meat Institute, experts from the USDA, National Pork Board (NPB) and Merck Animal Health introduced the no-cost 840 RFID tag program—a five-year initiative supported through African swine fever (ASF) preparedness efforts. Beginning in Fall 2025, eligible sow producers, exhibition swine owners and State Animal Health Officials can order USDA-funded RFID tags through Merck A2025-10_nimal Health.

NPB staff also highlighted an additional initiative, funded by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services through NPB, that helps reduce the cost of transitioning to RFID tags across the swine industry and strengthens national traceability efforts.

Topics Covered:

•USDA’s RFID tag initiative background and current traceability practices

•How to access and order no-cost 840 RFID tags

•Equipment support for tag readers and panels

•Implementation timelines for market and cull sow channels How RFID improves ASF preparedness an