Katie Pawlosky

USDA National Bio & Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stand up the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. This state-of-the-art facility is a national asset that will help protect the nation's agriculture, farmers and citizens against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases. DHS has diligently managed the NBAF project since 2006 but will transfer ownership to USDA in the coming months. After that, USDA will own and operate NBAF. NBAF will replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), a biosafety level-3 facility that is more than 68 years old. Currently, USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conduct foreign animal disease research, training and diagnostics in this center. ARS and APHIS will transfer their missions from PIADC to NBAF and will operate the facility jointly. DHS reported construction was completed in May 2022 and contractor commissioning was completed in December 2022. Even after USDA takes ownership of the facility from DHS, the full science mission transfer from PIADC in New York to NBAF in Kansas will still take at least a couple of years. To protect the food supply and support the nation's economy, NBAF will enable the U.S. to conduct comprehensive research, develop vaccines and anti-virals, and provide enhanced diagnostic and training capabilities to protect the nation from transboundary, emerging, and zoonotic animal diseases that threaten our food supply, agricultural economy, and public health. NBAF will be the first facility in the U.S. to provide maximum biocontainment (BSL-4) laboratories capable of housing cattle and other large livestock for the purpose of developing vaccines and diagnostics for zoonotic diseases.