Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday announced $40 million in funding to help complete Phase 2 of Iowa State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The governor also proposed in her budget an additional $20 million from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund, $10 million in fiscal year 2024 and $10 million in fiscal year 2025, to total $60 million in state support for the project. Funding for this initial investment is made available through the federal American Rescue Plan Act. In a release, Reynolds said funding for the project “is absolutely critical to support and protect our state and country’s agriculture industry and food supply.” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in the release: “The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is enormously important to Iowa’s nation-leading livestock industry and provides immeasurable expertise on worldwide animal health and food safety issues. … Our close partnership with the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab has been essential in implementing our response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak and we rely on their team’s recommendations as we enhance our preparedness for other foreign animal disease threats.” The full-service laboratories at the Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians process upwards of 100,000 cases each year and conduct more than a million tests annually, according to the announcement.
