United States Department of Agriculture

2014 Farm Bill Section 10007: 

Strengthening Our Nation’s Ability To Safeguard 

U.S. Specialty Crops, Agriculture, 

and Natural Resources

PREVENTION

RECOVERY RESPONSE

PREPAREDNESS

SAFEGUARDING

CONTINUUM

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Under the 2014 Farm Bill Section 10007, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service offers funding for projects that protect plant health in the 

United States. Cooperators across the country put innovative ideas into action 

with Farm Bill funds to meet and overcome the extraordinary challenges we 

face today in safeguarding U.S. agriculture and the environment from harmful 

pests. This work is critical to the USDA mission on many fronts: keeping U.S. 

plants healthy, advancing science, promoting safe agricultural trade, enhancing 

the marketability of our country’s products, and ultimately, making sure American 

agriculture and natural resources thrive.
Strategic Goal Area Project Highlights

Target domestic inspection

Improve plant pest and disease survey efforts Enhance plant pest and disease analysis

Enhance and strengthen pest 

identification and technology

• Use science to make informed decisions

• Develop risk-based models for 

 decisionmaking

• Gather and analyze available data

A new model informs decisions 

in plant protection programs and 

helps keep harmful pests out of the 

United States.

Farm Bill funds helped USDA’s 

Agricultural Research Service develop 

a model to identify higher risk points 

of entry for invasive pests and prevent 

their introduction. This tool uses U.S. 

census and foreign travel data to better 

understand exotic pest movement, 

optimize surveys for early detection, 

and support proactive resource 

planning. USDA has applied the model 

successfully to citrus programs in 

Florida and is expanding its use to 

California and Texas. 

With their keen sense of smell, 

dogs can detect hidden agricultural 

products at an accuracy rate of 

more than 90 percent.

Every day, tens of thousands of parcels 

are shipped into California. Many of 

these parcels contain plant material 

that harbors invasive pests. The 

California Agricultural Detector Dog 

Team Program, funded by the Farm 

Bill, has prevented invasive pests from 

coming into our country through the 

mail. Dog teams sniff out packages 

that contain agricultural products. Their 

inspections protect agriculture from 

harmful pests that might go undetected 

by visual checks alone.

National surveys guide research on 

improving honey bee health and 

increasing bee populations.

With Farm Bill funds, the University 

of Maryland, USDA’s Agricultural 

Research Service, and apiary 

specialists in 37 States and Territories 

launched the 2015 National Survey 

of Honey Bee Pests and Diseases. 

Honey bees are vital for agriculture, 

but their populations are declining. 

This coast-to-coast survey—the most 

comprehensive one to date for honey 

bee pests—gives crucial, baseline data 

to gauge colony health, detect exotic 

pest introductions quickly, and prevent 

their spread. 

A new diagnostic tool helps 

frontline field personnel accurately 

detect harmful plant pathogens in 

60 seconds or less, allowing for a 

more rapid response.

Farm Bill funds helped develop a 

sophisticated yet simple tool that 

detects specialty crop pathogens in real 

time: “CANARY,” or Cellular Analysis 

and Notification of Antigen Risks and 

Yields. Two USDA plant inspection 

stations have piloted the rapid detection 

technology to test for bacterial pathogen 

threats to plant species. In 2015, USDA 

partnered with a biotechnology company 

to commercialize several CANARY 

biosensors for plant pathogen detection.

• Inspect cargo for pests in interstate trade

• Efficiently move products and commodities

• Enhance inspections using dog teams

• Deploy survey procedures and tools

• Accurately identify new pest threats faster

• Support rapid response

• Monitor high-risk pathways

• Detect plant pests early

• Mitigate pest risk to promote safe trade
A new nursery certification 

approach ensures cleaner plants 

and easier interstate commerce.

Farm Bill funds supported the Systems 

Approach to Nursery Certification 

(SANC) pilot program, which brings 

together the National Plant Board and 

nursery industry groups to promote a 

harmonized approach to nursery and 

greenhouse certification. This auditbased program improves the sanitation 

processes at nurseries and unifies 

standards for the interstate movement 

of nursery stock. Long-term benefits 

include reduced pest risk, improved 

cost efficiencies, and more direct 

interaction between nurseries 

and regulators. 

Public schools are using the Citizen 

Scientist program curricula as part 

of new State middle school science 

standards.

The Department of Plant Industry at 

Clemson University used Farm Bill funding 

to create Citizen Scientists in the Junior 

Invasive Inspectors Program. This initiative 

teaches middle school youth to conduct 

surveys for invasive forest pests. Students 

learn the identification and biology of trees 

and insects as well as the importance of 

invasive biology. Citizen Scientists are 

rewarded for continued survey work and 

pest reporting on the Junior Invasives 

Web site. 

Swift, coordinated response to a 

new pest threat protects grapes, 

apples, and stone fruits and more 

than 70 types of ornamental and 

woody trees.

Farm Bill funds are advancing efforts 

to eradicate the spotted lanternfly, 

an invasive pest that could seriously 

harm U.S. grape, orchard, and logging 

industries. Federal, State, and local 

officials started a tree-banding program 

in Pennsylvania to detect and contain 

the pest’s spread. The program has 

seen great success, due largely to 

its collaborative approach and public 

support. Strategies being developed 

and tested now will be crucial for longterm lanternfly mitigation.

The NCPN protects U.S. specialty 

crops from harmful plant pests and 

diseases and ensures the global 

competitiveness of U.S. producers 

through high standards for clean 

plant programs.

The Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration 

produces disease-free trees for growers 

and nurseries. Its close location to citrus 

production in central Florida is convenient 

for serving nurseries, though it is 

challenging to be near a high concentration 

of disease vectors. National Clean Plant 

Network (NCPN) Farm Bill funds helped the 

Bureau convert its greenhouse to provide 

a safer, more secure facility and better 

protect the clean nursery stock it offers to 

Florida citrus growers.

Safeguard nursery production Conduct targeted outreach 

and education

Enhance mitigation and rapid 

response capabilities National Clean Plant Network

Start clean, stay clean

• Develop pest management tools

• Reduce potential adverse impacts

• Minimize spead of detected plant pests

• Develop management strategies

• Harmonize clean plant standards

• Mitigate pests and pathogens in nurseries

• Increase understanding of plant 

 pest management

• Raise awareness about high-risk pathways 

 and pest control efforts

• Educate the public on preventing the 

 spread of pests in nurseries

• Build interconnections and partnerships 

 to enhance clean plant center capacity

• Conduct plant pathogen diagnostics 

 and therapy

• Establish foundations of clean source plants
Visit Us

www.aphis.usda.gov/farmbill

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farmbillsection10007@aphis.usda.gov

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Learn More

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Program Aid No. 2180

Issued September 2015

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Project Funding

Section 10007 authorizes $62.5 million per year in Commodity Credit 

Corporation funding from fiscal year (FY) 2014 to FY 2017 and 

$75 million per year in FY 2018 and beyond. Since 2009, APHIS 

has funded more than 1,700 Farm Bill projects across the United 

States. This funding supports two specific areas: the Plant Pest 

and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program and 

the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN). 

Plant Pest and Disease Management 

and Disaster Prevention Program

Under this program, funding is available for cooperators in all U.S. 

States and Territories. This includes State and Federal agencies, Tribal 

Nations, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and private entities. Funded 

projects are organized around specific goal areas that represent critical needs and opportunities to 

strengthen, prevent, detect, and mitigate invasive pests and diseases. 

National Clean Plant Network 

Each year, at least $5 million of the Farm Bill Section 10007 funding goes to the NCPN. Network 

funding supports established university and government clean plant centers to develop, maintain, 

and provide foundation stock of select specialty crops. Industry and others use the stock material 

to start or regrow clean plant orchards, vineyards, groves, and other commercial plantings.