USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

The following material has been excerpted from the APHIS sections of the 1997 Factbook of Agriculture, which should be available early in 1997 in hard copy from the Department.

Foreword

Why are the farmers and ranchers of the United States able to produce so much food for the tables of America's consumers?

Of course, there's no simple answer. But one key to this plentiful supply of food can be summed up in a single phrase: "Healthy crops and livestock."

And this is no accident. America's agricultural health is a result of a team effort--good husbandry by farmers and ranchers plus an organized effort to control and eradicate pests and disease and prevent the entry of devastating foreign plagues.

Just like frosts, floods and droughts, pests and diseases can wreak havoc on agricultural productivity, depressing farm incomes and driving up food costs for consumers in the process. While we may not be able to prevent weather-related disasters, USDA plays a vital role in protecting our country's agricultural health. The result is a more abundant, higher quality, and cheaper food supply than anywhere else in the world.

If agriculture is this foundation of manufacture and commerce, there is perhaps no greater mission than making sure that foundation remains healthy and strong. With the advent of free trade initiatives, a global network of countries has agreed that valid agricultural health concerns--not politics, not economics-- are the only acceptable basis for trade restrictions. In this environment, our country's agricultural health infrastructure will be our farmers' greatest ally in seeking new export markets.

Table of Contents

Excluding Foreign Pests and Diseases

• AQI -- Agricultural Quarantine Inspection
• Preclearance -- Checking at the Source
• International Programs
• Coping with Invasions
• Import-Export Regulations

  Domestic Plant Health Programs

• Introduction
• Biocontrol -- Nature's Way
• "See No Weevil" -- Boll Weevil Eradication
• Witchweed -- A Success Story
• Grasshoppers and IPM

  Domestic Animal Health Programs

• Introduction
• Diseases Eradicated from the United States
• Status of Current Eradication Programs

  Monitoring Plant and Animal Pests and Diseases

  Regulating Biotechnology in Agriculture

  Controlling Wildlife Damage

  Humane Care of Animals

  Aquaculture

Look at the APHIS segments in the 1996 Factbook of Agriculture.

APHIS Home Page Guided Tour USDA Home Page