A large sum of federal dollars has been allocated to fight nuisance creatures and ailments in the Magnolia State
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., announced Friday that more than $667,000 in funding from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been awarded to Mississippi to combat agricultural pests and diseases.
Funding from the USDA Plant Protection Act Section will support state programs administered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
“Detecting and combatting plant pests and diseases is critical to the protection of agricultural production in Mississippi,” Sen. Hyde-Smith said. “It’s a constant battle and this USDA funding will help our state identify and fight threats to our crops and forests.”
Funding was awarded to the following programs:
- MSU Invasive Insect Screening Lab – $170,000
- MSU Mississippi Bug Blues/Invasive Insect Education Outreach – $122,000
- MSU Bug Eyes/Volunteer Invasive Insect Searches – $63,500
- MSU Mississippi Bug Blues Educator Education Boxes – $55,900
- MSU Asian Defoliator Survey – $48,949
- MSU Pine Pest Survey – $39,414
- MDAC Exotic Bark Beetle Commodity Survey – $3,000
The MSU-Pontotoc Mississippi Sweet Potato Clean Plant Program will also receive $165,000 through the National Clean Plant Network — a program that targets plant pathogens and pests to ensure the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crop producers.
The array of funding comes from the farm bill, administered by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
