The National Animal Disease Facilities in Ames may not receive the entire $400 million slated to them in the Agricultural Appropriations Bill.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, has been attempting to allocate federal money for the Ames facilities. Around $40 million is intended to be granted for this year, with $400 million in the years to come.

However, other animal disease centers around the nation are now in competition for the intended federal funds, which pits the Ames labs against their sister facilities.

“We’re the National Animal Disease Center, and we’re a part of the Agricultural Research Service, which is under the umbrella of the USDA,” said Scott Rusk, assistant director for the facilities.

Other centers are scattered around the country in the states of Wyoming, Michigan, Georgia, Washington and New York, Rusk said.

“Equivalent-wise, there aren’t any equivalent to the Ames location, they all have different missions,” Rusk said. “Our primary focuses are the diseases of domestic animals, primarily cattle and swine, and also we have some poultry research.”

Jerry Redding, spokesman for the USDA, said, “Ames is the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. If there is a suspicion of a non-indigenous animal disease, the cultures are sent to the national veterinary services lab there for analysis to determine what the disease actually is.”

The facilities recently received a group of sheep from Vermont suspected to have a version of mad cow disease.

The Ames facilities employ approximately 600 employees, Rusk said. “The operating budget is right around $45 million,” he said.

Concerning the prospective additional funds, Rusk said, “The $40 million we hear about is associated with additional funding for the master plan, like construction design.”

The USDA submitted a report to Congress about the funds necessary to modernize of the Ames National Animal Disease Center.

“We submitted a report about what was needed to modernize the facilities specific to the three labs in Ames,” Redding said.

Concerning the funding, the National Animal Disease Center in Ames was unable to comment.