News Article – 

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is changing its funding structure for National Animal Health Laboratory Network laboratories across the country to be in line with the recommendations of the NAHLN Coordinating Council. When this change is implemented, APHIS will also limit each state to a maximum of two funding agreements, with a limit of one Level 1 agreement per state. APHIS will consider multiple NAHLN labs in a state as a laboratory system if those labs share management/oversight and/or the same funding mechanism.

This change ensures that available NAHLN funding will be distributed more effectively and equitably. States with multiple laboratories that aren’t currently under a laboratory system will need to transition to the laboratory network model already used by the majority of states.

To lessen the impact on these states, APHIS will fully implement this funding change in fiscal year 2022, with fiscal year 2021 serving as a transition year. In fiscal year 2021, APHIS will provide 75 percent of the fiscal year 2020 funding level for laboratories that would not receive a separate funding agreement under the new structure.