The possible dismantling of BARC and relocation of the U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI) threatens a critical national and international resource for identifying plant pathogens and protecting agriculture from invasive fungal diseases.
Horrendous news today!
Employees of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (USDA) need to vacate and relocate by September 30th!
I wonder if USDA leadership fully understands the potentially devastating consequences this could have for agricultural biosecurity.
This is a bipartisan issue!
BPI and USDA Fungi-Host Database are essential for crop protection, trade, diagnostics, and agricultural biosecurity. Continued funding and support are urgently needed to protect these irreplaceable scientific and biosecurity resources.