National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

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, Kansas. 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. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate built the facility to standards that fulfill the mission needs of the USDA. DHS ST reported construction was completed in May 2022 and contractor commissioning was completed in December 2022. In accordance with a 2019 memorandum of agreement between DHS and USDA, NBAF ownership and operation will transfer to USDA. NBAF will replace the 68-year-old Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) where USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) currently conduct foreign animal disease research, training and diagnostics. ARS and APHIS will transfer their research and diagnostic missions from PIADC to NBAF and will operate the facility jointly. Even after USDA takes ownership of the facility from DHS, it will still take at least a couple of years to transfer the full science mission from PIADC to NBAF.