“It will be nearly another decade” before the mammoth National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas goes into operation, says Drovers CattleNetwork, reporting on a presentation at a veterinarians’ conference. The 580,000-square-foot laboratory would replace USDA’s Plum Island lab off of Long Island, NY, and would become the government’s highest-security animal disease lab. “Current plans call for construction of the main laboratory to begin in May 2015, with completion planned for December 2020 and full transition from the Plum Island site by August 2023,” said CattleNetwork.