FARGO - A new 32-foot-long trailer, pulled by a pickup, is being equipped for use as a mobile lab in fighting livestock disease and bioterrorism.

North Dakota State University scientists and veterinarians want to use the lab for diagnostic tests on cattle, sheep and other livestock in remote areas that lack electricity and water.

"Our challenge is just to go where these services haven't been available," said Kris Ringwall, director of the Research Extension Center in Dickinson, where the mobile lab will be based.

The fifth-wheel trailer sports a stainless steel countertop with space for lab equipment, a refrigeration and freezer unit, storage cabinets, two 300-gallon water tanks and a sleeping area for up to six people.

The back door folds down into a ramp, allowing a winch to pull dead animals into a rear holding area. The holding area also is large enough to haul an ATV.

A satellite dish will be installed to send photos and data via laptop computer to the NDSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Fargo, said Doug Freeman, who heads NDSU's veterinary and microbiological sciences department.

The $60,000-plus lab is part of a $1.25 million federally funded "agrosecurity" effort involving NDSU, Dickinson State University and research extension centers in Dickinson and Hettinger. The state health department and the state veterinarian also are partners in the lab.

Two teams will staff the trailer in emergencies: the Dickinson research center's Rapid Response Team and the Discovery Group, a statewide team of professionals who investigate sources of disease outbreaks, Freeman said.

The lab's diagnostic capabilities will reduce the need to transport sick animals across the state and lessen the chances of spreading disease, said Pat Jensen, vice president and dean of NDSU's college of agriculture, food systems and natural resources. North Dakota has more than 1 million cattle and more farm animals than any other state, she said.

The lab could play a role in the national livestock identification system proposed by the federal Agriculture Department, Freeman said. The system would track animals using ear tags with radio-frequency identification chips, a major research area at NDSU.

Ringwall, the lab's primary designer, said he is not aware of a similarly equipped lab in any other state. The trailer was manufactured by Featherlite Inc., which has a dealership in Dickinson.

"They didn't have anywhere to go to find and mimic a design," Ringwall said.

State and private veterinarians worked with Ringwall on the design, said state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson.

"There is a lot of concern about the potential vulnerability of our food supply, and this is one tool to try and deal with that," Johnson said.

A report from the nonprofit Trust for America's Health issued Tuesday graded states on whether they met 10 criteria for preparing to face bioterrorism risks, including the amount of state spending and federal aid allocated to public health. It ranks North Dakota among eight states that met seven of the criteria. No state met all 10.