Frequently Asked Questions

National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) FAQs

What is NBAF?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) owns and operates the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to help protect the nation’s agriculture, farmers and citizens against the threat and potential impact of serious animal diseases.

NBAF’s Vision:
A safer and more resilient America through a world-class science facility for large animal agricultural research, training and diagnostics.

NBAF will replace and expand on the mission of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), a biosafety level-3 facility that was established in 1954. Currently, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conduct foreign animal disease research, training and diagnostics in this center. ARS and APHIS will transfer their missions from PIADC to NBAF and will operate the facility jointly.

Why does the U.S. need NBAF?

Protecting livestock and agricultural interests also protects the economy. Agriculture, food and food processing contribute more than $1.1 trillion to the U.S. economy’s gross domestic product per year. In addition, 11 percent of jobs — about 22 million — have some ties to agriculture.

NBAF’s Mission:
To protect the United States against transboundary, emerging, and zoonotic animal diseases that threaten our food supply, agricultural economy and public health.

How will NBAF protect the food supply?

At NBAF, USDA will conduct comprehensive research, develop vaccines and anti-virals, and provide enhanced diagnostic and training capabilities to protect the nation from animal diseases that are:

• Foreign or transboundary — could enter the U.S. from another country.
• Emerging — are new or not well known.
• Zoonotic — can spread between animals and humans.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 70% of new and emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic. USDA will expand its scientific work at NBAF, which is the first facility in the U.S. to provide maximum biocontainment (biosafety level-4) laboratories capable of housing large livestock for research and diagnostics of zoonotic diseases. NBAF will be a critical component of USDA’s priority to develop vaccines and countermeasures for — as well as the early detection of — diseases that threaten livestock, other animals and food from the nation’s farms and fields.

What science will be done at NBAF?

NBAF is in a unique position to do diagnostics and training, as well as research and veterinary countermeasure development for foreign, emerging and zoonotic diseases in large livestock within the safety and security of this next-generation facility. Before any work with biological select agents and pathogens can begin at NBAF, the facility and personnel are required by law to undergo a series of inspections and reviews by regulatory agencies.

Scientific activities at NBAF are starting in phases, beginning with low-risk, common science practices that don’t involve infectious pathogens and moving to more advanced or mission-focused science in later phases. Current scientific activities at NBAF are at a biosafety level-1 and -2 — which includes clean, non-infectious materials as well as moderate-risk microbes. This is similar to science work in most universities, colleges and diagnostic laboratories across the country.

The Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL) and the Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit (FADRU) at Plum Island will transfer their science to NBAF. FADDL employees are involved in prevention, surveillance, diagnosis and response to these diseases, including the expertise to manage two vaccine banks. FADRU and two new USDA units — the Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit (FABADRU) and the Zoonotic and Emerging Disease Research Unit (ZEDRU) — are focused on research and countermeasures for animal diseases that could have devastating economic or public health consequences.

In addition, NBAF has a Biologics Development Module that will enhance and expedite the transition of new innovations from research to commercially-viable countermeasures.

How much did NBAF cost to build?

The 574,000 square-foot facility’s acquisition cost was $1.25 billion. The cost was fully funded through a combination of $938 million in federal appropriations, $307 million in funding provided by the State of Kansas, and $5 million from the City of Manhattan (Kansas).

How many USDA employees will work at NBAF?

Once fully operational, NBAF will have more than 400 employees. As of June 2024, more than 300 team members support NBAF operations and science. Watch USAJobs and follow NBAF on X and LinkedIn for employment opportunities.

How will NBAF engage with the community?

NBAF is actively engaged with the community providing updates by request and representing USDA NBAF at various local, state and regional events. Please send all questions and requests for NBAF presentations to nbaf@usda.gov.

What role could NBAF have played in the COVID-19 pandemic, and what role could it have in future pandemics?

The mission of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility is to protect the United States against transboundary, emerging and zoonotic animal diseases that threaten our food supply, agricultural economy and public health. NBAF will be a critical component of a key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) priority—the development of animal vaccines and other countermeasures for the detection of diseases that threaten livestock, other animals and food from our nation’s farms and fields.

From the public health perspective, NBAF is the first high-containment, Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 facility for livestock in the United States, which will enable scientists to work on the most high-consequence “zoonotic” animal diseases — those that can infect both livestock and people. Some studies have pointed to the fact that COVID-19 has an animal component, which means it could fall into the zoonotic category. In fact, more than 70 percent of emerging diseases that have affected humans in the last 10 years have an animal component. So, while NBAF will largely focus on animal diseases, it could play a supporting role in future public health crises with respect to livestock research, diagnostics, countermeasure development, training and response.

What specific expertise will NBAF bring to the table for future pandemics?

Currently, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conduct foreign animal disease research, training and diagnostics in New York at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) which is more than 68 years old. NBAF will replace this aging facility but will continue and expand on its mission making NBAF the home of internationally recognized animal disease experts who will likely be called upon to assist other countries in addressing significant animal disease situations and to partner with public health officials when needed to protect animal and human health.

NBAF also will be the future home of the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL) currently located at PIADC. FADDL’s mission is to provide 24/7 diagnostic testing to rapidly detect and respond to an introduction of a high-consequence, foreign animal disease into the United States like foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or African swine fever. But because NBAF will have the first high-containment, Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 facility for livestock in the U.S., we’ll also be able to identify, conduct research and develop veterinary countermeasures for the most high-consequence zoonotic diseases that can infect both livestock and people. Being able to identify these diseases in animals as soon as possible is critical to minimizing the impact on public health. The training facilities at NBAF will allow us to double the number of veterinarians trained by the FADDL team every year as part of the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician Course, which provides an opportunity for federal and state veterinarians to see these diseases in real time so they can better understand them and know what to look for should an outbreak occur.