Abstract Expanded national laboratory capacity to respond to animal food/drug related illnesses or other large-scale animal food/feed emergency events requiring surge capacity testing of implicated diagnostic or animal food samples is required to ensure food safety in humans. Food safety directly affects the food chain through biological and chemical contaminants in animal feeds The Breathitt Veterinary Center is a fully accredited (AAVLD) animal disease diagnostic laboratory strategically located in Western Kentucky. The objective of this grant application is to support activity by the Breathitt Veterinary Center in the FDA CVM Vet-LRN Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Program. The FDA Vet-LRN grant program is a mutually beneficial opportunity in which the laboratory receives support to advance its scientific scope and the FDA CVM adds to the national laboratory capacity. Funding provided through a cooperative agreement will be used to provide equipment, supplies, training, and proficiency testing requested by the FDA Vet- LRN on an annualized basis for a five-year period. The Specific Aims of this proposal are: 1) To strengthen coordination of veterinary diagnostic laboratory efforts as related to the safety of the food supply; 2) To train, equip and proficiency test technicians to perform such testing as is necessary to ensure the safety of the food supply; 3) To participate in the Vet LIRN Whole Genome Sequencing Project by providing bacterial samples as a Source Laboratory.