Timothy L Widmer (PhD) National Program Leader - Plant Disease, USDA, Agricultural Research Service
The Communicator: Volume 5, Issue 4, April 2024
I want to express my sincere appreciation to the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) for your significant contributions to plant health in the U.S. for the past 20 years. In my role as USDA ARS National Program Leader for Plant Disease, my honest assessment is that the NPDN is a critical component in our nation's plant biosecurity infrastructure.
The NPDN is called on frequently to support state and federal regulatory agencies to provide accurate and timely diagnostic services. When called upon, NPDN delivers dependable information to support the regulatory actions that protect plant systems. Diagnostic information is essential to implement effective mitigation measures to protect plant health while safeguarding the agricultural trade that underpins our local, state, and national economies.
In my leadership role for the National Plant Disease Recovery System, which is part of National Security Memorandum 16, I am fully aware of the constant introduction of new potentially high impact pests and pathogens into the U.S. in addition to the long list of endemic biological threats already within the U.S. I am currently preparing a new USDA ARS initiative on a Plant Health Facility Framework that I hope will get funded. This framework will establish a vital network to safeguard U.S. agriculture and food security. I view the NPDN as a valuable partner and contributor to this network as the NPDN labs are an important part of our nation's passive surveillance system to achieve early detection. The continued need for NPDN's skills and capabilities is clear. The NPDN diagnostic labs also routinely provide high quality diagnostic services to support non-regulatory plant health challenges that producers face daily. Without NPDN's support, crop management decisions would be less effective.
I also want to convey my congratulations on the award from the National Plant Board (NPB) in recognition of NPDN's support of state regulatory agencies across the country. That recognition from the NPB underscores my assessment of the NPDN's significant contributions to U.S. agriculture. NPDN's strong and effective working relationship with USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine is also testament to the general recognition across federal and state agencies of NPDN's contributions to U.S. agriculture.
Thank you for all NPDN does to protect plant health and to keep people healthy.
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