USDA Capacity: Animal Health and Disease Research Program

The USDA dedicates funding to increase animal health and disease research activities at accredited public or private veterinary schools or colleges through the Animal Health and Disease Research (AHDR) formula or capacity program.  The amount of funds provided to each institution is determined by statutorily defined formulas, including variables such as the rural population, number of farms, and poverty. University leaders decide the specific projects that will be supported by an institution’s capacity grant allotment, which must be aligned with NIFA-approved plans of work.  ISU CVM typically receives enough funding to support 5-7 seed grant projects fulfilling these criteria.

The purpose of the AHDR program is to increase animal health and disease research activities at accredited public or private veterinary schools or colleges, or state agricultural experiment stations that conduct animal health and disease research.  The AHDR program is aligned with the following USDA Strategic Goals:

1. Strategic Goal 2: Maximize the Ability of American Agricultural Producers to Prosper by Feeding and Clothing the World; (Objective 2.3), to protect agricultural health by preventing and mitigating the spread of agricultural pests and disease; and

2. Strategic Goal 7: Provide all Americans Access to a Safe, Nutritious, and Secure Food Supply.

 

Animal Health and Disease Research (AHDR) Seed Grants

Proposals due March 21, 2023, 11:59pm