Ossoff presses White House for more funding for UGA Poultry Lab

Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff is calling on the White House to prioritize increased funding for the University of Georgia’s Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center. Democrat Ossoff has penned a letter to the US Ag Secretary, saying work done at that center and others in Georgia is essential to combating the avian flu that is driving up poultry and egg prices.

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

As you finalize your priorities for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget request, we request that you prioritize increased funding for research on poultry processing, poultry production, and diseases affecting the poultry industry such as avian influenza.

Georgia leads the nation in production of broiler chickens and is home to the nation’s leading poultry research laboratories, including the U.S. National Poultry Research Center, the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center at the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Poultry Lab. The avian influenza outbreaks now affecting nearly every state, including Georgia, increase the urgency of funding for the labs and their research work.

Additional funding for poultry research is needed to help leading scientists and researchers develop control, treatment, and containment methods and to ensure facilities have the latest technology and infrastructure to support this work.

We look forward to working with the Department of Agriculture to support deployment of research funds supporting this important industry.

Thank you for your consideration of our request.

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