The funding freeze from the Trump administration temporarily cut off vital dollars for a poultry lab in Willmar fighting the bird flu that has rattled Minnesota’s turkey industry.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last week announced a freeze in nearly $130 million in federal agriculture dollars to the state, saying Minnesota needs to account for the funds in the wake of a far-reaching fraud scheme.
But after supporters of the lab operated by the University of Minnesota asked for an exemption from the freeze, they learned Jan. 15 that it was granted the day before.
The Willmar lab is little-known but highly vital for farmers trying to fight bird flu and other diseases. The highly pathogenic avian influenza has for several years hit the state’s turkey industry, which leads the nation.
“These are economically devastating diseases,” said Hemant Naikare, director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota.
The laboratory collects samples transported directly from turkey farms to, among other things, test for animal diseases.
There are varied funding streams. Federal funding is up to $1.5 million annually, no more than 10% of the budget, Naikare said.
If the funding cut had gone through, the lab would have had to start charging farmers for tests normally paid for by the USDA.
