New Idaho State Department of Agriculture diagnostic lab opens in Boise

On Tuesday morning, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, or ISDA, held a ribbon-cutting event for a new diagnostic laboratory. 

The 18,500 square foot building holds ISDA’s animal health, dairy and plant pathology laboratories. The lab performs required tests for beef cattle to be processed and animals crossing state lines. ISDA’s project brief said Idaho has 2.5 million cattle, 296,000 goats and sheep, and 48,000 horses. 

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ISDA says that animal health labs have seen ‘dramatic growth’ in part due to Brucellosis. Brucellosis, an infectious disease caused by Brucella abortus bacteria, can affect animal and human health and international trade. In 2015, ISDA’s Brucellosis sample total was 48,000. The average for the past three years is 410,000. 

ISDA calls this lab significant because it serves a ‘vital role’ in monitoring plant, animal, and public health in the state, including preventing mass outbreaks of animal disease. 

The project was funded at $10 million and ended up being $1.1 under budget.