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HYDE-SMITH: $667,000 AWARDED TO TACKLE DESTRUCTIVE PLANT PESTS IN MISS.
USDA Plant Protection Act Funds Will Support MSU, Miss. Dept. of Agriculture Efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced the award of more than $667,000 in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding for projects in Mississippi to combat agricultural pests and diseases.
The USDA Plant Protection Act Section 7721 funding will support a series of Mississippi-based programs administered by the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service and Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC).
“Detecting and combatting plant pests and diseases is critical to the protection of agricultural production in Mississippi. It’s a constant battle and this USDA funding will help our state identify and fight threats to our crops and forests,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on both the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.
FY2025 Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program awards for Mississippi total $502,763 and include:
- 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 receive $165,000 through the National Clean Plant Network, which is a program to target plant pathogens and pests to ensure the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crop producers.
The funding derives from mandatory funding in the farm bill and is administered by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
