USDA Funds Antimicrobial Resistance Dashboards
Pet and livestock owners can expect more public data on antibiotic resistance trends in domesticated animals.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Veterinary Medicine
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The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is offering up to $3 million in cooperative agreement funding to build dashboards tracking antimicrobial resistance in domesticated animals. Eligible applicants must submit proposals during a 90-day funding window that opened Nov. 16, 2022 and closed Feb. 15, 2023.
Why it matters
Antimicrobials are among the most critical tools for treating serious infections in both people and animals, so tracking where resistance is emerging matters for the health of pets, livestock, and the families who depend on them. The dashboards are meant to give veterinarians, producers, and public health officials clearer, more accessible information on resistance trends.
APHIS has made up to $3 million available through cooperative agreements. The application window ran 90 days, opening Nov. 16, 2022 and closing Feb. 15, 2023.
The players
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
The USDA agency that protects American agriculture from animal and plant health threats and runs the National Animal Health Monitoring System and the National Animal Health Laboratory Network.
The details
The dashboards will be built through public-private partnerships and will draw on data from APHIS' National Animal Health Monitoring System, which collects antimicrobial use information voluntarily provided by U.S. farmers and ranchers. Partner labs in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network look for antimicrobial resistance, and the dashboards are intended to monitor resistance trends and detect emerging resistance profiles. Eligible applicants include state departments of agriculture, Tribal entities, land-grant universities, and colleges of veterinary medicine, and all dashboard tools must provide data protections similar to the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act. Non-federal applicants submit through the ezFedGrants system, while federal entities apply by email.
Timeline
Nov. 16, 2022: Funding announcement window opens for applications.
Feb. 15, 2023: Funding announcement window closes for applications.
The Home Front
The dashboards draw on voluntary reporting from U.S. farmers and ranchers under the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act model of data protection. For pet owners, this federal effort sits alongside broader veterinary concerns about how antibiotic use in animals affects treatment options available at the clinic.
If you have a pet or livestock, ask your veterinarian how antimicrobial stewardship affects the treatments they recommend and whether a culture test is worth considering before a course of antibiotics. Keep your pet's medication records organized so you can share recent antibiotic use with your vet.
The takeaway
Antibiotic resistance affects both pets and the people who care for them, so asking your veterinarian about antibiotic use is a smart habit. Keep a simple log of any medications your pet has received so it is easy to share with your vet.
Further reading
For more on how resistance affects animal care, explore our Veterinary Medicine coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Feedstuffs.
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Do you think antibiotic resistance in farm animals poses a serious risk to your family?
