Good news! Thanks in part to the hard work and advocacy of our readers, Congress has provided funding for Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) and the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) -- two important programs for keeping our food safe -- in the omnibus spending bill President Obama signed last month.

As we've told you before, FARAD provides information about how to avoid residues of medications and contaminants in food animals, and NVMSA will provide loan repayment for veterinarians who work in underserved areas -- like with the food supply. Both programs are crucial to sustaining and improving the safety of our food supply.

The inclusion of the funding in the spending bill is a victory for both programs. The battle for ongoing funding will eventually begin again, but for now, we can take a breather and focus on other food safety challenges.

Here's what JAVMA News says about the funding of these programs:

"Congress included $2.95 million for NVMSA... In exchange for a commitment to work in underserved areas of veterinary medicine, recipients are granted student loan repayment. The bill was signed into law in 2003, but its implementation has been delayed by the Agriculture Department, which is still in the process of promulgating regulations for the program...

FARAD, a program until recently on the brink of extinction because of insufficient funding, received a desperately needed $806,000 appropriation. A number of organizations including the AVMA had donated more than $16,000 to keep the program running in the short term, but a major cash infusion was needed.

"I am very relieved because we were basically going to have to shut FARAD forever by the end of summer," said Dr. Alistair Webb, one of the program's three directors and a professor at the University of Florida-Gainesville.

The money will keep FARAD going for another year without additional layoffs, Dr. Webb explained."

We have more good news to report from the front lines of food safety. More than five years in the making, the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) is about to become a reality. Soon, the legislation to provide loan repayment for veterinarians who work in underserved areas -- like with the food supply -- will become a living, breathing program.

And for those of you reading this at home who have no idea what NVSMA is, let me give you the back story. There is a shortage of veterinarians who care for, treat and inspect the animals that become our meat and dairy products. Anyway you slice it, that can’t be seen as good news. So, to encourage more vets to work with food supply animals and in rural areas (where the cows, pigs, etc., usually are, obviously), Congress passed NVMSA in 2003. NVMSA will help the vets who volunteer to work in these positions or neglected areas by helping them repay some of their student loans.

Even though the program was approved in 2003 and funded by Congress in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the program never got started. Well, now it’s about to finally happen.

How did we do it? Ultimately, the feat of bringing NVMSA to reality was accomplished by a Congressional mandate – inserted in the Farm Bill approved this spring – that motivated the USDA to move forward. The folks at USDA will be the ones administering NVMSA, and now they have about nine months to work out all the particulars of who is eligible, how they will apply, etc.

Hopefully, by next fall, veterinarians can start applying. And it looks like, soon after that, more vets will be working on the food supply in rural areas.

We had the chance to talk to Dr. Gregory S. Hammer, AVMA’s President, about the success of NVMSA. For Dr. Hammer, the victory is the culmination of a long and arduous pursuit. “ Make no mistake about it – it has taken us five years of reaching out, reaching in, wrangling, rebuking, begging, banging, teaching and testifying on Capitol Hill and to the Executive Branch for NVMSA to become a reality,” Dr. Hammer said.

Dr. Hammer testified in support of NVMSA before a US House of Representatives subcommittee earlier this year, urging implementation of NVSMA. Hats off to him and all the many others who worked so hard for this food safety victory!

If you want to learn more about NVMSA, go here and scroll down. There are a lot of great links at the bottom of the page.