The funding announcement on Friday includes up to $28,000 over the next 120 days to help individual farms test cattle and bolster biosecurity efforts to further limit the spread of the H5N1 virus between herds. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture allotted $98 million in incentives to support the actions of states with affected herds to restrict interstate movement of cattle. Federal officials are trying to determine the risk to humans as well as how the virus has spread since it was first detected in dairy cows in late March.

Farmers have been reluctant to allow federal health officials onto their land to test potentially infected cattle amid uncertainty about how their businesses would be impacted. Farmworkers have also been reluctant to participate in screening because of potential immigration and employment fears. 

To date, the virus has been found in 42 herds across nine states, with one confirmed case in a human. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said federal authorities want to give states an incentive to act. 

“We don’t necessarily have jurisdiction today over what happens inside the state. States are now considering and thinking about the possibility of preventing movement of sick cows or movement of cows without negative tests. We obviously encourage that and support that,” Vilsack told reporters. 

At the same time, the Department of Health and Human Services said it will spend $101 million on prevention and treatment of H5N1, which is the virus that causes avian flu. That figure includes $93 million for testing and contact tracing.

The announcements Friday come amid calls from infectious diseases and public health experts for a clearer picture on how the virus is spreading. They have expressed concerns that agencies are not testing enough, and farmworkers are at risk every time they are exposed to potentially infected cattle.