National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), under the Department of Homeland Security, will be a government run research facility. The 520,000 sf. facility is scheduled to begin construction in 2010, become operational by 2014, and employ up to 300 people. The site for this facility should be selected in early 2009. The facility will research "high-consequence biological threats involving human, zoonotic (i.e., transmitted from animals to humans), and foreign animal diseases."

Out of the original 29 sites proposed, only the following 5 sites remain prospective:


 * Flora Industrial Park, Madison County, Mississippi
 * Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
 * Texas Research Park, San Antonio, Texas
 * Umstead Research Farm, Granville County, North Carolina
 * University of Georgia/South Milledge Ave., Athens, Georgia

The research will study disease such as Foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever, African swine fever, and contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.

This facility will replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.