Vet Lab asks legislature for money
Seeking national accredidation, the Utah Veterinary Diagnotics Laboratory has asked the Utah legislature for $237,000 of on-going funding to hire new personnel.
UVDL, a cooperative entity of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and Utah State University, is the state’s only animal disease diagnostic laboratory, said director of UVDL, Tom Baldwin.
Before any type of animal can be exported from the state, Baldwin said, it must be checked for disease, which is done through UVDL. But
the lack of national accredidation may cause many states and countries to see the results from UVDL as invalid, forcing Utah producers to seek testing out of state.
“If we don’t have accreditation it will interrupt movement of animal
products between states,” said Paul Rasmussen vice president for research and director of the agricultural experimental station. Rasmussen also said he predicts it will soon become federal law that test results for disease will only become accepted by nationally accredited laboratories.
“What they’re really asking is, are they any good? Are they reliable?”
Baldwin said, adding that for the first time he is seeing states and nations become more wary of labs that are unaccredited.
“That has huge implications for our export abilities,” he said.
Three of the top four Utah exports are agricultural, Baldwin said, and according to the Agricutural Statistics Service, United States Department of
Agriculture, the value of Utah’s livestock and products of animal origin exceeded $617 million in 2002. Baldwin said $322 million of that was due to animal exports.
“I think we have a window of time here,a year, maybe two before these negative impacts significantly hit us, but then they’re going to hit us,” Baldwin said.
“The state really has only two choices here,” Baldwin said. “They’re either going to fund the laboratory or they’re going to shut is down. It won’t be functional if no one will accept what the UVDL does.”
Mike Marshall, Utah’s state veterinarian, said UVDL is crucial to Utah’s animal industry and while there may be one or two small animal labs in the state, no other lab in Utah does what UVDL does.
“How much profit the private lab makes on each test comes into play. At UVDL we certainly have to make enough money to pay our way, but lots of the testing we do are not things that are done very often, but need to be done in the name of homleand security and food safety,” Marshall said.
Baldwin said partnerships with other organizations such as the USDA, the UDAF, and the division of Homeland Security, the equipment and facilities to become accredited have been secured.
“Because of those partnerships, our facilities and our equipment is largely state-of-the-art. This is one of the finest labs in the United States. It has some very unique safety features,” Baldwin said. “What we lack is ongoing resources to acquire the people we need.”
Before accredidation by the American Association of Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories can take place, he said, UVDL must hire a veternary microbiologist, two chemists, a quality control officer and pathology resident, Baldwin said.
Earlier last month, August 17 and 18, Rasmussen said a subcommitte of the legislature was presented with the problem and given information compiled by Rasmussen and Baldwin. Baldwin said President Hall was also involved in the presentation.
“We weren’t alone when we stood in front of the legislature. President Hall was most helpful,” he said. “And I don’t say that as a flippant comment. Many university presidents aren’t aware of what veterinary diagnostics labs do. President Hall is not that way. He took a genuine interest in here, he came to this legislative session, and he presented this information to them and he was right on the money.”
Baldwin said the subcommittee recommended to the legislature funding the project in full and he is “cautiously optimistic” that will happen. Baldwin says he hopes to have the needed positions filled by the time the money becomes available in July 2005.
While the large majority of money will go towards hiring new personnel, Baldwin said, $2,000 will be set aside for education of Utah’s producers, processors and veterinarians.
Marshall said the amount asked of the legislature was fair and very conservative.
Because UVDL is responsible for food quality testing in Utah, such as making sure chicken facilities are free of salmonella, Baldwin says another benefit to accrediation is increased public trust.
“It provides the citizenry an assurance that the assays that are done here are done according to nationally and even internationally recognized standards,” he said.
Baldwin said becoming accredited will also make them eligible for some federal projects and programs they have currently been exempt from. It will also allow them to continue what they are currently doing with more confidence.
“The UVDL does all rabies testing for the state of Utah,” he said. “How long do you think Public Health will continue to accept our rabies testing if we remain unaccredited? Will they be able to take the ability? Somehow I’m skeptical.”