The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service facilities in Ames could see a dramatic upgrade and consolidation if a proposed $72.6 million facility is approved by Congress.

The new facility would consolidate three USDA-related organizations under one roof. The Ames area organizations that would be in this facility include APHIS, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory and part of the ISU Veterinary Medicine School.

One of the major advantages offered by the placement of these organizations in the same location would be making the professional USDA personnel closer to the majority of their clientele.

The consolidation would also allow for easier sharing of some equipment. For example, the National Animal Disease Center, the National Veterinary Services Laboratories and APHIS all require large high level bio containment facilities for the storing of possibly infectious animal and viral-related materials. By sharing the new facility, instead of creating three separate ones, $1 million in operating costs would be saved annually.

The APHIS facility requires an upgrade because several of the current USDA facilities are “spread out and marginal” and need to be updated.

“If we are going to continue to provide the high quality of support to the USDA veterinary programs, it is important to have facilities of this caliber. The technology has changed and the standards havenrisen,” NVSL Director Jim Pearson said.

The plan for the new facility has been in the works for several years, but has not received funding.

“We (the NVSL and APHIS) submitted a plan a year ago to consolidate all the USDA-related veterinary buildings in Ames. We thought the funding would be in the Farm Plan but it wasn’t. The proposal is still alive and in fact a delegation from Ames had a meeting with Congress three weeks ago,” Pearson said.

The APHIS facility has many supporters throughout both local and state governments, including Republican U.S. Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot and the Ames Chamber of Commerce.

“The congressional delegation was very supportive and wants to see the USDA bring this to fruition, hoping to see it in the FY98 budget,” said Stuart Hadley, associate director of ISU government relations.

The president of the Ames Chamber of Commerce, Rene Niese, also voiced his support of the APHIS facility.

“I was with the delegation that went back to Washington, D.C. We in the Commerce support this and think it’s an excellent project for the community and that there are opportunities there mutually for ISU and the community of Ames,” Niese said.

Lightfoot assisted in getting money for the project last year.

“Last year, planning dollars ($100,000) helped flush out the proposal and Congressman Lightfoot was instrumental in acquiring those funds,” Hadley said.

Lightfoot said, “Regarding APHIS, the program is on track, but there are still a number of hurdles in the Senate and with the conference committee.” He did not elaborate on what those hurdles were.

The building of this facility will impact the Iowa State community by bringing professional people back to Iowa, providing jobs in the construction of the facility and providing 40 permanent positions.

The proposed facility will be built on the east part of town near the current location of the NVSL building.