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A Message from USDA to Ant Keepers

October 25, 2023 April Dawson, Communications Specialist, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA

Ant keepers enjoy a fun and educational hobby, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also has an interest in it. You might wonder what ant keeping has to do with American agriculture and natural resources. Some invertebrates that people—including ant keepers—import into the U.S. or...

Animals

Taking the Bait: USDA Safeguards Wildlife Against the Rabies Virus

September 25, 2023 Alisha McDowell, APHIS Public Affairs Specialist (detailed)

Rabies, one of the oldest known diseases, remains a significant wildlife-management and public-health challenge. September 28 th will mark the 17 th annual World Rabies Day, a global health observance started in 2007 to raise awareness about the disease and enhance prevention and control efforts...

Animals

How USDA Scientists are Winning the Battle Against Invasive Fruit Flies

April 27, 2023 Cecilia Sequeira, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Invasive fruit flies, such as the Oriental, Mexican, Mediterranean, and European cherry fruit fly, pose threats to many U.S. commercial and homegrown crops. If established, these flies could cause significant economic losses, requiring costly treatments to protect fruits and vegetables and reducing...

Animals Research and Science

Upcoming USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Center Programs Offer In-Person, Hands-On Training and Technical Assistance for Producers and Processors

March 23, 2023 Jennifer Porter, Agricultural Marketing Service, Deputy Administrator, Livestock and Poultry Program

Producers, feeders, and other stakeholders who want a better understanding of factors that contribute to the market value of cattle, and how these factors can inform marketing and production decisions, can join us at three upcoming in-person events at the USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Centers...

Animals

200 Years of Bilateral Relations with Mexico: Protecting Agricultural Resources from Plant Pests and Animal Disease Threats on Both Sides of the Border

January 19, 2023 Nick Gutiérrez, APHIS, International Services Regional Manager in Mexico

As of December 2022, United States and Mexico are celebrating 200 years of bilateral relations. Over these two hundred years, our nations have developed rich diplomatic and cultural ties where agriculture and trade considerations feature a prominent role.

Animals Plants Trade

Alternative Uses for Fladry

December 15, 2022 Gail Keirn, Wildlife Services Communication Program Specialist, APHIS

Wildlife Services (WS) experts are exploring how fladry, a nonlethal tool used to protect cattle, sheep, and other livestock from wolves, can prevent other wildlife damage.

Animals

Becoming a Tree Climber: Training in the Trees

November 28, 2022 Merilyn Navarro Sanchez, Communications Intern, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

For the first time ever, expert tree climbers with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program trained fellow APHIS employees from another program on how to climb trees with a purpose.

Animals

Tracking Citrus Health in the Texas Rio Grande Valley

November 07, 2022 Nohelia Lopez-Izaguirre, APHIS Public Affairs Intern

Growing up in the Texas Rio Grande Valley - in the richness of Mexican-Texan culture, tradition, and food - citrus is a staple in our everyday life. But I never knew that diseases threatened citrus production. That changed this summer. As a communications intern, I had the opportunity to job shadow...

Animals Plants

African Swine Fever, Part 2: Safeguarding the Future

October 13, 2022 Shilo Weir, APHIS Public Affairs Specialist

USDA has a proven track record of protecting U.S. farmers and has many safeguards in place to prevent the introduction of foreign animal diseases.

Animals

African Swine Fever, Part 1: A Look at the Past

October 11, 2022 Shilo Weir, APHIS Public Affairs Specialist

African swine fever (ASF) has existed for more than a century. ASF is a highly contagious, deadly disease affecting both domestic and feral pigs, devastating pork industries around the globe. ASF was first described in 1921 in Kenya. In the decades that followed, it spread in several sub-Saharan...

Animals