The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken a critical step in modernizing Foot and Mouth Disease preparedness through its initial purchase of $27.1 million in FMD vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank. South Dakota Pork Producers Council President Craig Andersen says it’s an important beginning in dealing with foreign animal diseases such as FMD which had been pushed to the rear by focuses on African Swine Fever and the COVID 19 pandemic.
He says it will take more funding to make the Vaccine Bank an important defense against foreign animal diseases that could impact all animal species in the United States.
Andersen says any FMD outbreak in the U.S. could result in $128 billion in losses in the beef and pork sectors as well as a $44 billion and $25 billion loss to the corn and soybean industry, not to mention job losses of more than 1.5 million across all of U.S. agriculture over 10 years.
The FMD Bank was established as part of the 2018 farm bill.
