The USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture has announced grants totaling $17.6 million with a concentration on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and African swine fever.  In total, 27 projects will be funded through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and ten projects through the Welfare of Agricultural Animals Program.  Grants include: -

• University of Georgia – Development of mass vaccination to prevent HPAI.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Development of antigens against African swine fever.
• University of Missouri – Development of influenza vaccines for swine.

The Welfare of Agricultural Animals Program will support a research project at Purdue University to investigate breeding strategies to establish heat tolerance in poultry with an emphasis on ducks.