February 15-18, 2009 Washington State Convention Center Seattle ...

20
2008 FARM BILL: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES FARM-RAISED CATFISH
INDUSTRY
Jimmy L. Avery and Gary Jensen
National Warmwater Aquaculture Center
Mississippi State University
Stoneville, MS 38776 USA
javery@drec.msstate.edu
The United States Congress passed the Food, Conservation and energy Act of 2008 which was eventually enacted into law. This
legislation, commonly referred to as the 2008 Farm Bill, contains numerous provisions which are specific to aquaculture. Some
of these provisions have the potential to significantly impact the United States farm-raised catfish industry. This presentation
will highlight some of these key provisions.
Currently, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) provides continuous inspection of processing of all meat, poultry
and eggs. The 2008 Farm Bill amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act authorizing FSIS to include catfish in the list of inspected
products. In addition to processing, the FSIS will take into account the conditions under which catfish are raised and
transported to the processing facility. This program is at no cost to the processor. The primary impact to the industry is that no
product FSIS classifies as “catfish” will be allowed to be imported into the United States until an equivalent inspection program
can be certified in the exporting country.
The USDA Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) provides a grading program for meat and poultry products that has widespread
consumer acceptance. Examples include USDA Grade A eggs and USDA Prime beef. The 2008 Farm Bill establishes
within the USDA a voluntary fee based grading program for catfish. Catfish commodity organizations supported this provision
because they feel it will be an effective marketing tool for those processors that elect to participate.
The 2008 Farm Bill extends the authority of USDA Farm Services Agency to enroll commercial pond-raised aquaculture ponds
In the Conservation reserve Program (CRP). Any catfish pond which has been in operation during one of the past 5 years is eligible.
The 15-year rental contract would convey an estimated $60-$80 an acre rental rate to ponds which discontinue operation.
The program would also extend a $100 per acre, on-time, signing incentive payment and cost sharing on vegetative plantings
and field modifications. It is estimated that as much as 15,000 to 25,000 acres could be enrolled in Mississippi alone.