As your Indiana lawmakers are putting together the state’s budget for the next two years, several ag groups, including Indiana Farm Bureau, are pushing for additional funding for the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University.
“Indiana is so rich in agriculture that the lab plays a very critical role in maintaining and helping grow agriculture in our state,” says Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, Director of the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue’s campus—or ADDL, for short.
She says the lab supports Indiana’s ag industry by testing for diseases that impact animal production, including avian influenza in poultry and African Swine Fever in hogs.
“The role that ADDL plays is quick, rapid response to any sort of concern on an animal production facility,” says Dr. Hendrix. “We respond rapidly and perform those diagnostic tests so that appropriate decisions can be made at the farm level.”
That’s why she says more funding is needed to hire additional staff to quickly turn around those testing results.
“We are the state agency that provides the testing, not only to identify positive results for animal diseases so that the producers can mitigate those results, but also it’s very important when we have the negative results because that allows business to continue even in the midst of an outbreak,” according to Dr. Hendrix.
In addition to hiring additional staff, she adds that ADDL needs to upgrade its computer hardware and software systems to better help support Indiana’s multi-billion-dollar animal industries.
“The funding will help us to be more cutting edge with our technology and upgrade our laboratory information management system, which is the way the clients interact with the lab through sample submission to receive their results. That will greatly enhance our clients’ experience with the lab,” says Dr. Hendrix.
Since February 2022, the Indiana ADDL was the first laboratory activated in the national response through the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) and completed over 12,000 Avian Influenza PCR tests in conjunction with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health.
Click HERE to read more about the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University.
Click HERE to read the ADDL’s 2022 Annual Report.
Click BELOW to hear C.J. Miller’s news report and interview with Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, Director of the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
