Last April, Indiana lawmakers approved an increase in funding in the state’s two-year budget specifically for the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) with Purdue University.
“I cannot find the words to express my level of appreciation for all the groups and individuals who advocated for the ADDL at the State House this spring,” says Dr. Kenitra Hendrix, Director of the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
The new two-year state budget that passed during the 2023 Indiana General Assembly increases the laboratory’s annual appropriation to $5 million per fiscal year, which represents an increase of $1,288,439 per fiscal year.
She says the funding was greatly needed to hire more staff.
“We received an unprecedented 35% increase to our recurring funding,” says Hendrix. “This is going to set us on the path to be able to improve our client services through expanding our team.”
She says that she and her team are currently looking to fill two new positions within ADDL. The first is for a Veterinary Diagnostician and Pathologist at the Heeke ADDL facility in Dubois, Indiana in the southwestern part of the state. The second new position is for a Client Services Veterinarian at the ADDL in West Lafayette.
In addition, the ADDL received additional money to upgrade their computer software system. The ADDL was included in the budget for Purdue capital projects and capital appropriations, to the tune of $5 million for laboratory upgrades.
“That will be very critical for all future improvements at the lab because everything is digital these days, so we need to have a very effective user-friendly system in place for managing our case data. That will also improve the customers experience with the laboratory.”
Hendrix says the additional staffing and upgrades will help when it comes to quickly identifying and stopping the spread of major livestock diseases such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever, and Foot-and-mouth disease.
“We are poised and ready to respond to these high consequence diseases—we’re certainly watching the news as well,” says Hendrix. “We have staff trained on the official protocols for these high consequence diseases so having additional funding helps us maintain our staffing and expand our efforts in this very important area.”
Hendrix says she’s grateful for the many state lawmakers who approved the additional funding in the state’s two-year budget this legislative session—as well as the state ag agencies who pushed for that additional funding on behalf of ADDL.
“Specifically, I would like to thank the Indiana State Poultry Association, Indiana Pork Producers, American Dairy Association Indiana, Indiana Soybean Alliance, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, Indiana Farm Bureau and the ADDL’s own advisory committee. All of these groups recognize the critical role that the ADDL plays in support of Indiana’s agriculture. Their efforts to get that important message to those decision makers in Indianapolis was invaluable to the ADDL’s successful funding increase, so we just want to make sure they all know how thankful we are for their efforts and their support,” says Hendrix.
Click below to hear C.J. Miller’s radio news report for Hoosier Ag Today.
