Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2024 Cooperative Agreements | USDA APHIS 10025 VSSPRS00 24 0007

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA APHIS 10025 VSSPRS00 24 0007

The Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management and Response Activities 2024 Cooperative Agreements opportunity is a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) discretionary funding program designed to help control, manage, and prevent chronic wasting disease in farmed cervids such as captive deer and elk. The focus is practical, on-the-ground disease work: building or strengthening surveillance and testing systems, improving management practices that reduce risk, and supporting rapid response actions when CWD is suspected or confirmed. The program is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning recipients should expect active involvement and coordination with APHIS VS rather than a hands-off grant relationship.

Funding is intended for activities that directly support CWD prevention and control in farmed cervid settings. This includes developing and implementing surveillance plans (for example, targeted sampling approaches, risk-based monitoring, and improvements to detection coverage), expanding testing capacity and associated workflows (such as sample collection, submission logistics, and lab coordination), and executing response measures after detections. A notable and explicit allowable use is indemnification and removal of CWD-affected herds and CWD-exposed cervids, as long as it is part of an overall CWD management plan and carried out consistent with federal requirements in 9 CFR Part 55.2. In other words, proposals can support the difficult but sometimes necessary steps of depopulation or removal and related disease control actions when they are justified within a compliant management framework.

In addition to operational disease control work, the opportunity can also support applied research aimed at improving real-world tools and strategies for identifying, preventing, and controlling CWD in farmed cervids. This applied research angle is meant to be practical and implementation-oriented, helping agencies and partners evaluate or refine techniques that can be deployed in field conditions rather than purely theoretical studies.

APHIS VS anticipates awarding about $6,050,000 total under this opportunity. Eligible applicants include state departments of agriculture, state animal health agencies, and state departments of wildlife or natural resources, reflecting the multi-agency nature of farmed cervid oversight and disease response. Federally recognized Native American Tribal governments are eligible, along with Native American Tribal organizations or universities representing federally recognized Tribal governments. Research institutions and universities are also eligible, particularly where they can contribute applied research capacity, technical expertise, or partnerships that strengthen surveillance, testing, and response systems.

Applicants may submit more than one proposal, which can be useful if an agency or institution wants to separate distinct project types (for example, one proposal for surveillance expansion and another for response readiness or applied research). Each proposal must be submitted as its own complete proposal package, and requests are capped at up to $250,000 per proposal. The original application closing date listed for the opportunity is June 10, 2024. The opportunity is cataloged under CFDA number 10.025 and is identified as USDA APHIS funding opportunity number USDA APHIS 10025 VSSPRS00 24 0007.

Overall, the program is best understood as targeted support for partners who can measurably strengthen farmed cervid CWD programs. Competitive projects will typically show a clear plan for surveillance and testing improvements, well-defined management or response actions tied to CWD risk, and strong alignment with federal rules for any indemnification and removal activities. The end goal across all supported work is the same: reduce the likelihood of CWD introduction and spread in farmed cervid populations and improve the ability to detect and respond quickly when it occurs.

• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response Activities 2024 Cooperative Agreements" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.025.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA APHIS 10025 VSSPRS00 24 0007

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