Source: Jacqui Fatka, FARM PROGRESS, 9/20/21

Editor's Note: NC's US Rep. G.K. Butterfield signed onto the letter.

In July, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the presence of African swine fever in samples collected from hogs in the Dominican Republic, raising concerns that an outbreak could reach the United States. To improve vigilance in protecting U.S. herds, legislators are calling for $75 million to increase surveillance and protection efforts. U.S. Representatives Angie Craig, D-Minn., Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, and Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., led Reps. David Scott, D-Ga., Jim Costa, D-Calif., Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushing for $75 million in funding for APHIS to prevent and prepare for a possible African swine fever outbreak in the U.S. swine population.

For more of this story, click here.