WHO:

• Unted States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary Jennifer Lester-Moffitt
• California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Plant Health and Pest Prevention Service Director Mark McLoughlin
• Agricultural Commissioners from San Joaquin, Tuolumne and Fresno Counties
• Professionally trained pest detector dog teams from Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
• Local agricultural industry representatives

WHAT:

USDA Under Secretary Jennifer Lester Moffitt will announce funding to support and strengthen California’s pest prevention, detection, surveillance and mitigation projects to protect California’s agricultural industries and environment from non-native invasive pests. These funds will help support programs such as the pest detector dog teams and exotic fruit fly trapping programs, both of which are geared to find and prevent new pests from making California their home. The pest detector dog teams help find and intercept hitchhiking pests on shipments entering California through parcel delivery facilities and airfreight terminals. California’s statewide pest detection trapping system is used to find insect pests at the earliest stages of introduction so that targeted treatment can begin immediately thereby reducing the spread of the pest to multiple crops. These unique programs help protect the billions of dollars of world premier crops in San Joaquin County and Central Valley counties.

WHEN:

Friday, January 20, 2023
10:00 am: Undersecretary Moffitt to give opening remarks
10:15 am: Dog team demonstration by Alameda and Contra Costa County dog teams
10:35 am: Transition to demonstration on exotic fruit fly trapping at facility location

WHERE:

San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner's Office
2101 E Earhart Ave #100, Stockton, CA 95206 [MAP]

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