For Livestock Producers, Vaccine Bank A Priority In 2023 Farm Bill
The livestock industry benefited from the 2018 Farm Bill, primarily with the development of a Food and Mouth Disease vaccine bank, as well as the establishment of the needed funding. Now as lawmakers look to start the crafting process of the 2023 Farm Bill, Allison Rivera of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says the vaccine bank will remain a priority for cattle, pork, and lamb producers.
"The bank is still gonna be kind towards the top of that list we're gonna need to continue to fund this bank beyond 2021."
Liz Wagstrom of the National Pork Producers Council says, outside of the Farm Bill increasing FMD vaccine supplies and availability is also a priority.
"Efforts to be able to make FMD vaccine in the United States that would increase the capabilities of vaccine availability. So our kill vaccines in the stockpile are highly effective but they cannot be produced in the United States. And so looking at some of those issues around bio-security of vaccines is something we see down the road."
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