Michigan Awarded over $800k from USDA Supporting Emergency Preparedness, Early Detection and Response

Funding to support National Incident Command System Capacity Advancement in MI and the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture

LANSING – When emergencies happen, coordinated and rapid response by trained personnel is critical to protect public and animal health. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has been a leader in emergency preparedness and response across the nation and was recently successful in securing more than $800,000 in federal funding to help provide training in Michigan and other states.

“Animal disease and disaster responses require both national and regional coordination to ensure continuity of the food supply while protecting public and animal health,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “We know when individual states have equitable access to emergency response resources and training, the whole nation benefits from more effective and coordinated emergency response.”

Together with the Multistate Partnership for Security in Agriculture and the Nebraska and Ohio departments of Agriculture, MDARD was awarded $829,114 to build emergency response capacity across the nation. The department will act as the fiduciary and lead coordinator for training events to be held in Nebraska, Ohio, and Michigan over the next two years. The award is one of 60 fiscal year 2023 National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP) projects funded by the 2018 Farm Bill and administered by USDA.

“Training is critical to preparedness and providing an effective and rapid response,” said Brad Deacon, director, MDARD’s Office of Legal Affairs and Emergency Management, which houses the department’s emergency response efforts. “State agriculture and animal health agencies without access to or the ability to travel to training is an impediment for emergency responders across the nation. MDARD is proud to help other agencies be ready to respond for whenever an emergency strikes.”

A few key highlights around this grant project are:

• It will provide All-Hazards Incident Command System training opportunities to animal health emergency responders across the nation, including state and federal departments of agriculture, industry and academic partners, and other animal disease response partners who will benefit from the trainings.
• It will fund coordinated delivery of specialized emergency management training at centrally located Midwest locations and provide no-cost training and travel funding to animal health emergency responders from across the nation.
• This project will be a model for future emergency response training events.
• The Incident Management Team capstone course will allow states the opportunity to train and exercise emergency response capabilities in a team setting.

For more information on this grant program, visit the USDA NADPRP website.

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