Catfish Farmers of Arkansas

Emergency Assistance to Farm-Raised Fish Producers

2010-07-09T14:21:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that disaster assistance will be issued starting today to livestock, honeybee and farm-raised fish producers that suffered losses in 2008 because of disease, adverse weather or other conditions. The aid will come from the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).

“American farmers, ranchers and producers should have protection from market disruptions and disasters,” Vilsack said. “The assistance announced today will be particularly helpful to beekeepers whose bees suffered from Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and will also assist other producers facing economic challenges.”

More than $10 million in disaster assistance, including more than $6 million to compensate beekeepers for 2008 losses will be issued starting today, June 30. Under the program, producers are compensated for losses that are not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance Payment programs established by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, specifically Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) Program. ELAP benefits related to 2009 losses are expected to be issued later this summer.

ELAP eligibility provisions have been amended for both honeybee and farm-raised fish producers. The modifications include allowing honeybee and farm-raised fish producers who did not replace their honeybees or fish that were lost due to a natural disaster to be eligible for ELAP payments based on the fair market value of the honeybees or fish that were lost. For more information about USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, please visit your FSA county office or http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elap

More about Foreign Fish

2010-03-29T18:46:00.002-05:00

This is most likely the shortest blog in history. I don't have anything to say except I hope you can stomach this and be sure to tell all of your friends and relatives about this.
Check out this web site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x4i5GYE&feature=related

Food Safety Rules to Emege from Fight Over Imported Catfish

2010-02-16T15:44:00.002-06:00

By Kimberly Kindy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The whiskered, bottom-feeding catfish is one of the lowliest creatures on Earth. But for months, catfish have been at the center of an intense Washington lobbying effort pitting domestic producers against importers.

At issue is how catfish will be regulated and whether Vietnamese imports pose a health risk to American consumers. U.S. catfish producers used a multimillion-dollar lobbying effort to persuade Congress in 2008 to tighten regulation of the single species of fish, a program expected to incur $5 million to $16 million in start-up costs with its launch next year.

The battle has sparked threats of a trade war from Vietnam, which wants its fish excluded from the regulations. The Vietnamese ambassador to the United States, Le Cong Phung, has called Congress hypocritical for changing the rules on catfish to give an advantage to domestic producers.

Under the farm bill passed in 2008, catfish inspections are moving to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has spent 18 months crafting regulations. The rules, which are still secret, might be approved by the Office of Management and Budget as early as Tuesday. All other fish remain under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration.

Domestic catfish producers argue that tougher regulation -- which would increase onsite inspections and testing -- would force foreign producers to adhere to safety standards more in line with those that domestic producers must follow.

"We are just looking to be on the same playing field," said Joey Lowery, president of the Mississippi-based Catfish Farmers of America.

But some aquaculture experts have jeered at the wrangling.

"It's laughable. Why single catfish out? No one is eating raw catfish sushi. This is a very, very low-risk product," said Byron Truglio, a retired consumer safety officer with the FDA's Division of Seafood Safety, who advised the USDA on its inspection program.

The catfish wars have been brewing since 2002, when Congress passed a farm bill barring Vietnamese fish farmers from labeling their fish as catfish. The Vietnamese fish is from the genus Pangasius; the law mandated that only fish in the Ictaluridae family, which is produced in the United States and is commonly called channel catfish, could bear the catfish label. The two fish have a similar taste.

"That fish and ours are as close taxonomically as a house cat and a cow," said Henry Gantz, former president of the Catfish Institute, a trade group representing domestic producers.

By 2008, when another farm bill made its way through Congress, Americans were eating slightly less domestically produced catfish than they had in 2002. But consumption of Pangasius -- which is typically called basa at fish markets -- had skyrocketed. Price was a factor. Wholesale, basa sells for $1.75 to $2 per pound, while channel catfish goes for a dollar more.

Domestic trade groups tried a new tactic. They argued that a more rigorous catfish inspection program was needed to improve foreign farming practices, especially in Vietnam. Though they had fought in 2002 to bar Pangasius from bearing the catfish label, by 2008 they did an about-face, calling it "imported catfish" that should be included in the USDA program.
Sen. Thad Cochran (R), whose home state of Mississippi is the nation's catfish capital, led the charge, helping to insert bill language that called for the USDA to include catfish and "amenable species." Cochran also provided a $16 million earmark.

The domestic producers cited food-safety concerns. The FDA has found banned pesticides and antibiotics in some catfish imported from Vietnam, but no deaths have been linked to imported catfish. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that fish in general account for 3 percent of the nation's salmonella-related deaths.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who has faced intense pressure from all sides, has been charged with sorting out the issues. Vilsack declined to answer questions posed by The Washington Post. (USDA officials said that because the department is still developing the program, details are confidential.)

A draft copy of the rules obtained by The Post shows that the USDA decided that Vietnamese fish should be included in the new program, a move likely to generate fierce opposition from importers.

The draft also states that the catfish regulatory program would save an estimated 36 lives annually from salmonella-related deaths. The safety claims -- which are not supported by CDC data -- were ratcheted down in later drafts, according to sources familiar with the rulemaking work.

USDA officials would not say whether the safety claims are in the final version they submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.

If the rules are posted as expected this month, foreign catfish producers predicted fireworks.

"The industry is going to speak loudly," said Gavin Gibbons, spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, which represents foreign producers. "We will highlight some of the absurdities that account for this broad definition of catfish and the lobbying effort that was behind it."

New Jobs Bills

2010-02-12T15:25:00.000-06:00

Bipartisanship fleeting as jobs bill proposed
Democrats pare version forged with the GOP
Globe Wire Services / February 12, 2010

The jobs proposal
What’s in
▸Hiring tax credits - Exempts businesses hiring unemployed workers in 2010 from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax for those hires and provides an additional $1,000 tax credit for workers retained for a full year. Cost: $13 billion.

▸Highway programs - Reauthorizes the highway trust fund to use gasoline taxes to help state and local governments pay for highway and transit projects. Deposits an additional $20 billion into the trust fund.

▸Equipment write-offs - Permits businesses to write off equipment purchases as a business expense.

▸Build America Bonds - Expands the Build America Bonds program, subsidizing interest costs for bonds issued by states and local governments for large infrastructure projects. Cost: $2 billion.

What’s out

▸Tax extenders - Extending through 2010 a variety of popular tax breaks that expired at the end of 2009, including a deduction for sales and property taxes and a business tax credit for research and development.

Cost: $31 billion.

▸Unemployment assistance - Extending through May 31 assistance for the long-term jobless and a 65 percent health insurance subsidy. Cost: $3 billion.

▸Medicare payments - Giving doctors a seven-month reprieve from a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments that would otherwise go into effect March 1. Extends other Medicare provisions. Cost: $10 billion.

▸Patriot Act - Extending for a year several provisions of the Patriot Act.

▸Farm aid - Help for farmers affected by heavy rains, floods, and other weather-related disasters.

Cost: about $1.5 billion.
The rapprochement lasted about four hours.

By evening, Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada had a new bill and a renewed message. Instead of supporting a plan that some said was bloated with special interest money, Democratic leaders proposed a stripped-down version they contended was strictly focused on the number one priority for Americans: jobs.

Gone were provisions sought by several industries, including health care and biofuel, and supported by senators from both sides of the aisle.

Gone, too, was a spirit of bipartisanship. Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa and Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, had earlier hailed the original draft as an essential two-party effort to respond to a troubled economy. “We believe they reflect a balanced set of member views and priorities,’’ the two senators said in a joint statement, which warned colleagues not to significantly alter the plan if they wanted bipartisan support.

The White House added, “The president is gratified to see the Senate moving forward in a bipartisan manner on steps to help put Americans back to work.’’

Yet, stung by criticism of several of the draft’s proposals, Democratic leaders balked. Their latest bill keeps several popular provisions, including a new tax break negotiated with Republicans for companies that hire unemployed workers and for small businesses that purchase new equipment. The bill also would renew highway programs and help states and local governments finance large infrastructure projects.

The bipartisan agreement is off. But Democrats said they now have a package focused solely on creating jobs, and they’re all but daring Republicans to vote against it.

“Our side isn’t sure that the Republicans are real interested in developing good policy and to move forward together,’’ said Senator Thomas Carper, Democrat of Delaware.

Said Reid: “Republicans are going to have to make a choice. I don’t know in logic what they could say to oppose this.’’

The original, bigger bill got a decidedly mixed reception at a raucous luncheon meeting of Democrats, many of whom were uncomfortable with supporting a measure containing so many provisions unrelated to creating jobs, including loans for chicken producers and aid to catfish farmers.

The centerpiece of Reid’s new bill is a $13 billion payroll tax credit for companies that hire unemployed workers. The idea, by Senators Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, would exempt businesses hiring unemployed workers this year from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax for those hires.

It also would provide an additional $1,000 tax credit for workers retained for a full year and deposit an additional $20 billion into the federal highway trust fund - money that would have to be borrowed. There’s also $2 billion to subsidize bond issues by state and local governments for large infrastructure projects.

But Republicans are irate at the strong-arm tactics and said Reid had gone back on a deal reached with some of the Senate’s heaviest hitters, including minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

“Needless to say, Senator Hatch is deeply disappointed that the majority leader has abandoned a genuine bipartisan compromise only hours after it was unveiled in favor of business-as-usual partisan gamesmanship,’’ said Antonia Ferrier, Hatch spokeswoman.

New Feed Study

2010-02-12T15:24:00.001-06:00

Arkansas:

UAPB feed study could help catfish farmers boost bottom line

AgFax.Com - Your Online Ag News Source

Share
By: Bobbie Crockett

PINE BLUFF (February 11) – Catfish farmers in Arkansas and elsewhere have seen higher feed costs eat away at their profits. A 2009 feed study by the Aquaculture/Fisheries Center of Excellence at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff could help producers make better choices about fish diets.

Catfish farmers have been dealing with higher feed costs driven by higher soybean, corn and wheat prices. The previous five-year average cost of feed was $235 per ton, but in 2008 most farmers paid between $375 and $425 a ton. To try to reduce those costs, the Arkansas-based feed mill ARKAT Nutrition Inc. along with Aquaculture/Fisheries Center nutritionist Dr. Rebecca Lochmann, are testing traditional diets along with some new catfish feed formulations. Dr. Carole Engle, center director and aquaculture economist, is doing economic analysis on the results of the studies.

“Feed prices have been going up, but catfish prices remain static so farmers asked if we could use cheaper diets and still get good yield,” Dr. Lochmann said.

The pond study, conducted May 2009 to October 2009, focused on catfish that were fed three different 28 percent protein diets: premium, standard or sub-optimal.

The Aquaculture/Fisheries Center tested their performance to give producers good information with which to make decisions. Less costly, but still reliable feed could translate into an improved bottom line for fish farmers across Arkansas and beyond, Dr. Lochmann said.

According to study results, harvested fish that ate the premium diet, weighed more, on average, than fish that ate either the standard diet or sub-optimal diet. The average weight of fish that ate the standard diet was higher than the fish that ate the sub-optimal diet. However, all of the fish were of marketable size.

The most important finding in terms of profit, was that yield of fish that ate the premium diet was similar to that of fish that ate the standard diet. However, the yield of the fish fed the premium diet was significantly higher than the yield of those fed the sub-optimal diet.

At the beginning of the study, the estimated costs of the diets were $344 a ton for the premium; $317 a ton for the standard and $307 a ton for the sub-optimal. A partial budget analysis showed a savings of $91 per acre from using the standard diet rather than the premium diet.

“This study showed that you can cut feed costs somewhat and still maintain your profitability,” Dr. Lochmann said.

Happy New Year! Catch Up Time

2010-01-04T05:54:00.000-06:00

Aquaculture Grant Program Keeps Catfish Producers Afloat, Bolsters Industry
Catfish farmers in the Mississippi Delta Region hit hard by soaring feed costs have been provided some relief to stop their businesses from drying up.

Nearly 350 Mississippi fish farmers received funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Aquaculture Grant Program this year. Supported with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the program provided financial assistance during the most demanding part of the growing season for catfish.

“The grant money couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” said Turner Arant, one of the first fish farmers in Mississippi. “With 19 ponds we use a lot of feed and it’s getting harder and harder [to maintain].”

Arant’s family-run farm opened its first pond in 1962. This year he closed a few of them because production and maintenance costs became too great. “We are concentrating on fewer ponds, trying to be as efficient as we can,” he said.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized up to $50 million to USDA to implement the Aquaculture Grant Program administered by the Farm Service Agency. The statewide program was coordinated by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, or MDAC, with cooperation from the state Farm Service Agency.

Through the grant program, a feed credit system was instituted that allowed farmers to receive up to $100,000 in credit on feed purchased in 2008. MDAC set up an account at a mill chosen by the farmer and the farmer would call to place an order when feed was needed. The mill would send an invoice to MDAC for payment, which was dispersed after statements were cross-checked and confirmed.

“The program is doing exactly what it was designed to do — help stimulate the aquaculture industry,” said Andy Prosser, director of market development and public relations at MDAC. “This is being done by keeping existing farmers in business, keeping aquaculture related jobs secure and helping an industry remain viable.”

The Mississippi Delta is home to the largest catfish production in the United States. With 87,300 acres of production and 5,000 catfish produced per acre, the grants allowed many farmers to stay in business.

“I was worried I would have to lay off folks and this is a rural area; if they don’t work for me I don’t know where they would go,” said second generation fish farmer Kent Toler, who raises fingerlings to stock fish farms around the country.

Toler said the grant money kept him from having to layoff 22 employees, some who have been with him from the beginning of his operation more than 20 years ago.

“People don’t realize that we can lose our whole operation overnight. If the oxygen level drops too fast and we can’t get the aerators going fast enough a whole pond of fish can be lost in just a few hours,” said Toler. “We don’t have insurance for that, it’s just the way the business is, so this grant money really helped ease our minds for a bit.”

Joe Olgesby agreed, but added that the cost of feed isn’t the only thing going up. “When the cost of feed doubles in a year all the other costs go up too, including diesel to run the equipment and hauling costs,” said Olgesby, whose Mississippi farm includes row crops as well as fish. “The grant allowed us to level out our cash flow for a couple of months. With the USDA payment limit, I went through my feed allowance in about two weeks but it was two weeks I was able to take care of other things.”

According to the USDA Agricultural Statistics Board more than 343,666 tons of feed were delivered in Mississippi in 2008, with an estimated cost of about $330 per ton. Three years ago, feed cost about $240 per ton. But feed buying in Mississippi is a cash-only operation forcing producers to secure a line of credit with the bank.

“The farmer orders his feed, we get it to him and run a charge against his line of credit,” said Lester Myers, owner and operator of Delta Western Feed Mill. “The jump in feed costs, fuel costs and transportation costs all hit at the same time, but the price of catfish didn’t double so the banker didn’t see how to increase the line of credit. In reality it got tighter because the margin of profit was cut substantially,” he said.

Myers said the increase in price for feed has caused his company to implement cost-cutting measures. Each day Myers shuts down some of his larger equipment between 3-7 p.m., which are peak hours for electricity use. This has helped save customers $2 on each ton of feed.

Overall, Myers said the grants have benefitted the aquaculture business. “This program was a real blessing to the industry,” he said. “Allowing a farmer to feed for a month on the grant money allowed his line of credit to rebuild. These farmers sell fish all the time, but if you are spending more than what is coming in, well it doesn’t take long until you are out of business.”

Get Rid of Some of the Red Tape

2009-12-21T15:31:00.002-06:00

Walk into any supermarket in America, and you’ll find a large part of the seafood section stocked with imported frozen fish. Chances are that few – if any – of those imported fish were ever inspected by the U.S. government to ensure they met health and safety standards. Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States. One of the best keptsecrets in Washington is that only 2 percent of that imported seafood was actually inspected.

Congress approved a law on June 18, 2008 that would have helped fix the problem by ultimately subjecting all imported catfish and related species to the same tough standards and protections as beef and poultry. One year and five months later, American consumers are still waiting for that protection. While we’re waiting, thousands of pounds of contaminated, imported catfish and related fish are slipping through the Food and Drug Administration’s weak safety net. Just last month, the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries examined catfish and related fish imported from five Asian countries and discovered that one out of every three of those imported fish tested positive for harmful Fluoroquinolones drugs that are banned for use in fish in the United States because of health and safety dangers to consumers. Those imported fish from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand would have landed on Alabama dinner plates if state authorities had not intervened. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for inspecting all imported seafood. But, fully 98 percent of all foreign seafood imported into the United States makes it to the grocery shelves and restaurant tables with no FDA inspections, according to the Government Accountability Office. Concerns over the FDA’s low inspection rates prompted the U.S. Congress last year to approve a provision in 2008 Farm Bill shifting regulation of catfish from the FDA to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) which inspects and oversees the quality of all beef, poultry and pork sold in America. The USDA has stronger legal authority, more thorough inspections systems and tougher health and safety requirements over the food it oversees. “The legislative language in the 2008 Farm Bill leaves no ambiguity in its intent that all catfish, domestic and imported, meet the highest USDA standards – at least equal to the guarantees already accorded to beef and poultry,” Sens. Blanche L. Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) wrote in a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in October. “Like you, we feel strongly about ensuring the health and safety of American consumers.”

The implementation of that law shifting catfish regulation to the USDA has been stuck in the Washington federal bureaucracy for the past 18 months. The USDA has debated whether to inspect all catfish and catfish-like products or just catfish from certain countries. The government bean counters – the Office of Management and Budget – is now debating how much it will cost to inspect all, or just some of the imported catfish and catfish products. While all this has been going on in Washington, Alabama isn’t the only government that has stopped the sale of contaminated imports. Countries in Europe and the Middle East have banned
Vietnamese catfish-like products because of health and safety concerns that they are raised in the Mekong River, which is polluted with raw sewage and toxic chemicals.
Even the Vietnamese government has sounded alarm bells over the conditions of its fast-growing catfish farming industry. In just the last few weeks, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development admitted difficulties in monitoring and managing the quality of feed, water environment and fish products and called for better systems to detect disease outbreaks.

The Catfish Farmers of America is urging the Washington bureaucracy to cut through the red tape and impose rigorous USDA inspections and regulations on all catfish – domestic and imported. U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is already rated one of the safest, nutritious and environmentally-friendly fish in the world by organizations such as the Audubon Society, Environmental Defense Fund and Food and Water Watch.
Americans are trying to eat healthier and are more safety-conscious than ever before about what they feed their families. We encourage our federal government to ensure that American consumersare getting the healthiest and safest catfish possible when they go to their grocery shelves or sit down to dinner at a restaurant.

Why should American families be at risk one more day?

Joey Lowery
President
Catfish Farmers of America
1-501-454-1810
jlowery@wildblue.net
www.uscatfish.com

Struggling To Survive

2009-11-30T10:50:00.001-06:00

By Jeff Moore • For the Daily World • November 29, 2009

Competition from overseas has held fish prices in check during the last decade, while production costs have increased steadily with inflation and rising costs of feed.
As a result, catfish pond acreage in the U.S. has declined by more than a third in the last decade.
Those that remain are fighting back against imports by waging a campaign to establish U.S. catfish as a superior product.
Farmers have backed federal and state labeling laws requiring restaurants and grocery stores to label their catfish by country of origin, a move they hope will help jumpstart domestic production.
"We're like a frog in the bottom of a barrel right now," said Steve Stephens, president of the Louisiana Catfish Farmers Association. "We're looking for anything right now that can help us."
Catfish is the leading aquaculture industry in the United States, with about 500 million pounds processed domestically in 2008.
About 95 percent of the nation's catfish comes from Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Soaring feed prices and an influx of cheap imports have cut into catfish production in recent years.
Production peaked at 660 million pounds in 2003, but has been decreasing ever since, according to Catfish Farmers of America.
Catfish production has dropped off at an even faster rate in Louisiana, from 65.7 million pounds of catfish in 1999 to 19.9 million pounds in 2008.
Louisiana currently has about 4,400 acres of catfish ponds, down about 10,000 acres since 1999.
"We've lost a lot of producers in the last five years," said Stephens. "With the economics like they are, the biggest factor is low prices."
For Stephens, the downturn started three years ago, when rising prices for soybeans, corn, and wheat caused feed prices to skyrocket.
Catfish prices, meanwhile, have lagged around 70 cents a pound for the past decade, with imports from countries like Vietnam and China keeping prices low.
Stephens said his own North Louisiana farm has faced "huge losses" over the past two years, forcing him to scale back his farming operation by 50 percent.
"Just about everybody I know in this business is cutting back," he said.
The situation isn't much better for wild-caught catfish, the production of which has also dropped substantially this decade.
Henderson Mayor Sherbin Collette has been fishing commercially in the Atchafalaya Basin for most of his life, and has never seen market conditions as tough as they are now.
"Imports hurt everything — shrimp, crawfish, catfish, you name it," Collette said. "It's crippled us to a point where we're barely surviving."
Collette faces additional challenges as a commercial fisherman — including competition from catfish farms.
Wild-caught fish sell for a lower price — about 45-50 cents a pound — and are often passed over by wholesalers in favor of pond-raised fish, Collette said.
"There's no market for wild fish," he said.
Collette sells most of his catch to local seafood restaurants and individual customers out of a shop near his home. But it's getting tough to make a living, he said.
"I hope I never have to stop, because this is my first love," he said.
Some relief may come in the form of new laws passed during this year's Legislative session.
The Louisiana Catfish Marketing Law, sponsored by state Rep. Noble Ellington, D-Winnsboro, requires restaurants and retailers to label any catfish they sell with the country of origin.
Castille said agriculture officials are currently developing a certification program to implement the law, and should begin performing inspections early next year.
State Rep. Fred Mills, D-St. Martinville, authored a separate bill that seeks to launch a "public safety marketing campaign" to warn consumers of possible health hazards of eating Chinese seafood and touting the benefits of state-grown and caught seafood.
Also created was a Seafood Safety Task Force to further study Chinese seafood and report back to the Legislature.
Catfish farmers have long complained that substandard aquaculture is practiced in Asian countries.
Vietnam has built a burgeoning industry raising catfish in ponds and cages along the Mekong River.
"Most of these fish are raised in pens in polluted areas," Stephens said. "They can bring that filet, even after shipping, for half of what we're trying to do it at a loss right now."
The industry is also trying to address imports by adding catfish to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety program. The USDA currently regulates all meat products, but does not inspect seafood. The inspection of seafood is now administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Have a laugh, a little late, but still good

2009-11-30T10:43:00.000-06:00

For this Thanksgiving, think outside the bird. Serve catfish.

STAR BREAK

But seriously, fellow patriots, the Catfish Farmers of America warn that billions of imported foreign catfish are coming into this country and only 2 percent are inspected for, say, Mad Catfish Disease.

STAR BREAK

And when the Indians helped the pilgrims prepare Thanksgiving dinner, the catfish did not come from Vietnam.

STAR BREAK

Let me suggest a slogan for the Catfish Farmers of America: "Safe sex -- safe catfish -- safe America."

Contaminated Asian Catfish Discovered by Alabama Labs

2009-11-20T15:36:00.000-06:00

Nov 19, 2009 10:19 AM, From Catfish Farmers of America

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries halt on the sale of imported Asian catfish and related fish contaminated by banned drugs underscores the urgency of implementing a congressionally-approved law for tough USDA inspections and regulations of imported catfish and catfish-like products, according to the Catfish Farmers of America.

The contaminated catfish products tested positive for antibiotic fluoroquinolones banned for use in fish or other seafood products sold in the United States because of the health and safety danger to consumers.

Alabama’s findings come as USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack is weighing a decision on how to implement a law approved by Congress last year shifting responsibility for the inspection and regulation of imported and domestic catfish and related fish from the FDA to the USDA. That law requires that catfish and catfish-like products meet the same stringent USDA health and safety standards as beef, poultry and pork.

“The contamination found in the Asian fish tested by Alabama authorities demonstrates the urgency of this health and safety issue,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. “We need Sec. Vilsack to enact this law now in the most comprehensive manner possible. It will help ensure that all imported catfish and catfish relatives meet the toughest regulations and inspections that will protect American consumers and make certain that imported fish meet the same standards for quality and safety as our U.S. farm-raised catfish.”

Last year, the FDA inspected only 2 percent of the 5.2 billion pounds of seafood imported into the United States, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Congress, responding to evidence of problems with the quality of imported catfish and related fish, voted as part of the 2008 farm bill to move inspections and regulation of those fish to the USDA.

Vilsack, who has made food safety one of his top priorities, is now considering whether to require that all domestic and imported catfish and related fish — including basa, pangasius and swai from Southeast Asia — meet USDA standards, or only domestic and Chinese catfish.

Chinese catfish represented only 29.7 percent of all foreign catfish products imported into the United States in 2008. Imports from Vietnam totaled 52.2 percent of foreign catfish-like products sold in America, and another 12.3 percent were from Thailand.

“Applying USDA regulations to only Chinese imports will not provide the protection American consumers need,” Lowery said.

The Alabama laboratory test results found the high percentages of contamination among the catfish relatives imported from Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

Among the 2 percent of seafood inspections conducted by the FDA in the first nine months of this year, authorities found Vietnamese basa — a catfish-like fish — contaminated with salmonella and illegal veterinary drugs, according to the FDA’s Import Refusals data base. Fully 98 percent of all seafood imports entering the United States from foreign countries are not inspected, according to Lowery.

“There is absolutely no way to determine whether all these imports are safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren’t allowed here in the U.S.,” said Lowery. “We want USDA approval that every catfish product imported into America meets the same rigorous standards for quality and safety as our U.S. farm-raised catfish.”

Alabama Commissioner Ron Sparks, in calling a halt to the sale of contaminated imported Asian catfish and related fish, said contaminated fish “will never make it to the dinner plates in Alabama.”

“Our question is: Why should the rest of American consumers have to wait for the same protection from their government?” said Lowery.

USDA Delay Harmful

2009-11-17T15:36:00.001-06:00

Nov 17, 2009 10:39 AM, By David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff

Currently, the USDA takes on the inspection of meat and poultry imported into the United States. However, it does not inspect imported seafood, leaving that to the Food and Drug Administration.

In a case of something written into the 2008 farm bill that’s yet to be enacted, U.S. catfish producers are pointing at the USDA’s failure to inspect seafood imports.

Currently, the USDA takes on the inspection of meat and poultry imported into the United States. However, it does not inspect imported seafood, leaving that to the Food and Drug Administration.

The USDA is shirking its responsibility, say critics. That’s because, behind a strong push by U.S. aquaculture interests during the farm bill debate, Congress shifted regulation of catfish products from the FDA to the USDA.

To the chagrin of U.S. catfish producers, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — despite claims that food safety is among his top priorities — has failed to place all catfish products under USDA jurisdiction.

“We got that in the 2008 farm bill,” says a frustrated Joey Lowery, president of Catfish Farmers of America and a catfish farmer in northeast Arkansas’ Jackson County. “It seemed like a natural for the catfish industry to be under the USDA, as they already inspect all the meat, poultry and dairy products.

“And catfish farming is no different than any other type. It’s the largest aquaculture industry in the country.”

A USDA inspection regime would be “a way to elevate the quality of our product. I can tell you all day long how good the product is and we can spend a lot of money on promotion. But being validated through USDA inspection will do a lot more for catfish.”

This is not the first time U.S. catfish producers have warned inspections are too lax (for more, see Catfish import ban bolsters farmers’ claims).

With the FDA’s paltry inspection numbers for imported seafood, Lowery says, the U.S. populace is likely unwittingly consuming unhealthy products.

“FDA has had the job of inspecting seafood. Part of that is checking imports from China, Vietnam and other countries that export fish to the United States. China ships channels cats to us, just like those we grow. Vietnam ships in basa, tra, and pangasius which are sometimes referred to as ‘Vietnamese catfish.’”

Over the past four years, “something like one of every four shipments inspected has been turned back by our inspectors. But FDA inspections only look at around 2 percent of the imported shipments! And last year, there was something like 5.2 billion pounds of seafood that came into the country.”
Extrapolate the high percentage of FDA rejections along with the low number of inspections and Lowery’s concern is evident.

“Ending in May of 2009, in a one-year period, FDA refused entry to 14 shipments of Vietnamese tra and basa. That’s a bit over one rejection per month. But, again, they’re only inspecting 2 percent of the shipments. So the odds aren’t really good on the other 98 percent.

“In my view, one bad shipment that makes its way into the United States is unacceptable. USDA inspections — which are stringent and a daily deal — should take care of that.”

A big problem: how to define “catfish.” As with inspection of imported fish, this is not a new issue for catfish producers (for more, see Call it basa, call it tra, it ain't genuine catfish and U.S., Vietnam in word battle over catfish).

“So, do officials use the narrow definition of ‘catfish’ and inspect only channels? Or do we deal with broader definitions which would encompass the Vietnamese fish? Obviously, we’re pushing for the broader language.”

Cases of illegal import mislabeling also continue (for more, see LDAF stops sale of mislabeled catfish) . But even if the imported product is labeled correctly, says Lowery “the U.S. marketers are still marketing these fish as a substitute for U.S. farm-raised catfish. If they want to be a substitute, they must adhere to the same standards we have to.”

When might the USDA take on seafood inspections?

“Right now, this is in USDA’s hands and they’ll make a recommendation,” says Lowery. “It will then go to OMB (the Office of Budget and Management) for 60 to 90 days. OMB will then come out with a rule. After that, there will be a 60-day public comment period. Following that, within 30 days a final rule will be issued.”

So it could be next spring before a final ruling is announced?

“That’s what I’m thinking, yes. It’s about a 180-day process after it leaves USDA.”

Asked how Southern catfish farmers have done in 2009, Lowery says, “Feed costs have been a big issue for catfish growers. With commodity prices, the feed price has been jacked up.”
Fuel has been a bit cheaper than in 2008. “But our input costs are very high — just like with row-crop producers. Like everyone else, we’ve had a lot of rain and that probably prevented some feeding of fish. We haven’t been able to secure a good price to stabilize things and make operations profitable.”

Like other industry leaders, Lowery “unfortunately” sees “some more catfish acreage going out of production. There’s a good possibility that will happen. I know some farmers that had some under-stock they are feeding. When those fish are sold, they’ll probably be done.”

The U.S. catfish industry needs “something positive to happen, something to hang our hat on. Getting the right inspection language would be a big boost, I think.”

The current tough economy “has had an effect on people eating out, and we’ve probably lost around 25 percent of production in the industry in the last couple of years. We peaked out at around 600 million pounds. In 2008, the high was a little over 500 million pounds. This year, processed weight will probably be under 500 million — maybe 450 million to 500 million pounds.”

Delta Catfish May Soon Be Checked by USDA

2009-11-17T15:27:00.002-06:00

MS DELTA (WLBT) - The Delta's Catfish industry hopes it will soon be checked for safety by the USDA.

The Delta Council Board Of Directors, a group of agricultural and business interests endorsed a proposal to add catfish to the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Program.

The proposal is supported by the Catfish Farmers Of America. Catfish farmers also want the Obama administration to include Vietnamese imports as catfish so they also can be covered by the new inspections. The USDA regulates all meat products but not seafood . Those inspections are conducted by the food and drug administration.

Catfish Farmers Want Stricter Regulations

2009-11-13T15:18:00.001-06:00

by Hanna Raskin (Subscribe to Hanna Raskin's posts)
Posted Nov 13th 2009 11:00AM

Just as Southeastern oyster producers are clamoring for the government to stay out of their business, catfish farmers have launched a new ad campaign asking for more regulation of their industry.

"All catfish should be treated equally!," proclaims the Catfish Farmers of America's full-page ad targeting the USDA. The trade group's ads began appearing late last month in major publications, including the Washington Post.

Catfish farmers contend imported seafood should be held to the same stringent standards now applied to imported beef, poultry and pork. Unlike those commodities, which are inspected by the USDA, imported seafood is the domain of the FDA. According to government reports, only 2 percent of the 5.2 billion pounds of seafood that entered the U.S. last year was inspected.

"People are taking it for granted that everything's inspected, and they need to know what's going on," CFA president Joey Lowery says. "This is something that shouldn't even be negotiable, food safety for the American people."

The catfish industry has spent the better part of the last decade lobbying legislators behind-the-scenes and orchestrating letter-writing campaigns for increased inspections, but Lowery says the new ads represent the most aggressive stratagem yet. A CFA release claims that's because lawmakers have "reached a critical point."

Congress last year voted to shift catfish inspection authority to the USDA, but the bill didn't specifically define catfish. The Department of Agriculture is now considering whether its inspectors will be looking at all catfish-like fish or just those grown in channels. American catfish farmers are enthusiastically backing the broad definition.

"The only country raising channel fish is China," grumbles Lowery. "If the narrow definition is put in place, inspections will not be very effective."

Only 27 percent of imported catfish are channel fish, Lowery adds.

If the USDA endorses the narrow definition, the decision will provide a fitting cap for what industry insiders generally agree has been a miserable few years for catfish farmers. In a release issued by the University of Arkansas to mark National Catfish Month this past August, extension aquaculture specialist Steve Pomerleau was quoted as calling the last two years the "most difficult" in the industry's history. Rising feed prices and increased competition from abroad have conspired to put many farmers out of business.

"We've lost acreage, we've lost producers," Lowery says.

Still, Lowery is hoping he'll be able to add a notch to the industry's win column after Secretary Tom Vilsack decrees what counts as catfish.

"We're making it harder on ourselves to prove the quality of our product," Lowery says of the request featured in the group's newspaper ads. "Anyone coming in should adhere to those same standards

Catfish Farmers Seek Inclusion

2009-11-10T15:16:00.001-06:00

By DAVID WEBB davidwebb@ddtonline.com
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:54 PM CST

STONEVILLE — No matter where or how it is grown, all food produced for human consumption should be subject to rigorous safety inspections, according to U.S. catfish farmers and their advocates.

The Delta Council’s Board of Directors passed a aquaculture resolution at its 75th anniversary midyear board of directors meeting last week seeking inclusion of the catfish industry in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food safety inspection program.

The resolution calls upon the agency and the Mississippi congressional delegation to work with the catfish industry to immediately authorize new oversight of aquaculture products.

“We want the USDA to treat catfish just like it does beef, pork and poultry,” said John Phillips, chairman of the Delta Council executive committee, at the Nov. 6 meeting.

The measure is supported by Catfish Farmers of America, which has asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to enact legislative provisions in the 2008 farm bill to ensure that domestic and imported catfish meet health and safety standards. The USDA currently regulates all meat products, but it does not inspect seafood.

The inspection of imported seafood is now administered by the Food and Drug Administration, but it reportedly inspected only 2 percent of all seafood, including catfish, in 2008, according to the catfish farmers association.

Only catfish and other species within the catfish family would be shifted from the purview of the FDA to the USDA under the proposal backed by the Delta Council and the catfish farmers group.

The U.S. reportedly imported 5.2 billion pounds of seafood in 2008.

The catfish farmers group complains that seafood processing lobbying groups, such as the National Fisheries Institute, are trying to get USDA inspections limited to “channel” catfish raised on domestic catfish farms and imported from China. That would leave out Vietnam’s species of “tra” and “basa,” which is from the catfish family.

The group claims that catfish grown in Vietnam comes from the Mekong River Delta, which reportedly is muddy and polluted with dangerous chemicals, and that one in five shipments inspected by the FDA in 2008 was refused entry to the U.S. because of contamination by illegal substances.

U.S. catfish farmers have long complained that substandard aquaculture is practiced in Asian countries. But critics of the group claim its motivation has more to do with profits than concerns about consumer safety.

Concerns have been raised that the catfish fight could lead to Vietnam purchasing smaller amounts of beef from the U.S. It is now the third-largest importer of American beef.

Joey Lowery, president of Catfish Farmers of America, said that his group’s only motivation is consumer safety.

“U.S. consumers currently believe that their seafood is subject to the same rigorous inspection standards as those imposed on meat and poultry products,” Lowery said in a letter published on the group’s Website. “However, that is not the case under the existing Food and Drug Administration standards, and the domestic catfish industry is dedicated to fighting for increased consumer food safety.”

Alabama issues stop sale order on Asian catfish

2009-11-09T15:32:00.000-06:00

UNITED STATES
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 03:10 (GMT + 9)

Commissioner Ron Sparks of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries announced on Wednesday a Stop Sale on catfish and basa products imported from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Vietnam due to positive results for the antibiotic fluoroquinolones.

A total of 40 samples of basa type products and catfish were tested from the five Asian countries, out of which 18 product samples yielded positive results for fluoroquinolones.

Fluoroquinolones and quinolones are chemotherapeutic bactericidal drugs used to kill bacteria by interfering with their DNA replication. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not allow the use of fluoroquinolones in seafood.

Sparks has issued nine orders of suspension from sale or movement for 486 cases of product weighing 8,840 lbs. These products were either voluntarily destroyed or returned to the importer after the Alabama Department notified the FDA of the drug traces.

The Alabama Department’s detection reporting limit is 1 part per billion (ppb) or greater. In the results, 17 samples were in the 1-5ppb range and one sample tested greater than 50ppb.

The basa type products tested were swai, sutchi and pangasius. Out of 19 Vietnamese samples, 12 tested positive; both Cambodian samples tested positive; one of three Indonesian samples tested positive; one of seven Thai samples tested positive; and one Chinese sample tested positive.

Also, one of eight samples of Chinese channel catfish tested positive.

Product samples continue to be collected and tested. Enforcement action will be implemented as necessary.

“The Automatic Stop Sale Order criteria established in April of 2007 is still in effect,” stated Sparks. “This series of tests that we have just completed indicates the importance of the continuation of the Stop Sale Order.”

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Alabama Bans Asian Catish For Contamination

2009-11-05T15:50:00.001-06:00

by Dan Flynn | Nov 05, 2009
A Stop Sale order on imported catfish and basa product from Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Vietnam has been re-imposed by the State of Alabama.

Commissioner Ron Sparks of the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries announced the state-imposed ban at a press conference in Montgomery late Wednesday afternoon.

The announcement was certain to delight domestic catfish farmers who have punched buttons at both the state and federal levels to limit foreign fish imports to the United States.

Sparks said the Asian fish products tested positive for fluoroquinolones.

Quinolones and fluoroquinolones are chemotherapeutic bactericidal drugs, used for eradicating bacteria by interfering with DNA replication.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not allow the use of fluoroquinolones in fish or seafood.

Alabama tested 40 samples of basa type products and catfish from the five countries; 18 samples came back positive for fluoroquinolones.

Commissioner Sparks has issued nine suspensions from sale or movement orders for 486 cases of product (8,840 lbs).

This product has been either voluntarily destroyed or returned to the importer of record after the Department has notified the FDA.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries detection reporting limit for fluoroquinolones is 1 part per billion (ppb) or greater.

Seventeen samples were in the 1-5ppb range and one sample tested greater than 50ppb. Product samples continue to be collected and tested and enforcement action will be implemented as necessary.

With the action, Alabama continues "Automatic Stop Sale Order" criteria established in April 2007.

"This series of tests that we have just completed indicates the importance of the continuation of the Stop Sale Order," Sparks said.

Test Results:

Basa Type Products (swai, sutchi, pangasius)

•Vietnam: 12 of 19 tested positive
•Cambodia: 2 of 2 tested positive
•Indonesia: 1 of 3 tested positive
•Thailand: 1 of 7 tested positive
•China: 1 of 1 tested positive

Channel Catfish

•China: 1 of 8 tested positive

Checking Imports

2009-10-21T08:45:00.000-05:00

Catfish Farmers Want Imports Inspected
Calls on Congress to tighten regulations.
Compiled by staff
Published: Oct 19, 2009
The Catfish Farmers of America this week launched a major advertising and public safety awareness campaign called "All Catfish Should be Treated Equally". The campaign urges the USDA to enact a congressionally approved law requiring all imported catfish to meet the same stringent health and safety standards as imported beef, poultry and pork.
"We've launched this campaign because of the urgency of this health and safety issue," said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. "We need Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to enact this law now. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our families. U.S. catfish farmers fully support the toughest and widest-ranging regulations and inspections that will protect American consumers when it comes to catfish - both imported and domestic."

The Catfish Farmers of America advertising campaign is targeting D.C.-based decision-makers and opinion leaders.

While the USDA currently inspects and ensures the safety of all meat and poultry products sold in the United States, it does not inspect seafood. The inspection of seafood is conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States from foreign countries. However, the FDA inspected only two percent of all imported seafood, including catfish, according to the Government Accountability Office.

"There is absolutely no way to determine whether all these imports are safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren't allowed here in the U.S.," said Lowery. "We want USDA approval that every catfish product imported into America meets the same rigorous standards for quality and safety as our farm-raised catfish."

The Catfish Farmers of America started its "All Catfish Should Be Treated Equally" campaign this week because the administration has reached a critical point in the decision-making process for enacting the law.

The U.S. Congress, responding to evidence of serious problems with the quality of imported catfish, voted to move catfish inspections and regulation from the FDA to USDA as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. USDA Secretary Vilsack, who has made food safety one of his top priorities, is now considering whether to require that all imported catfish meet USDA standards, or to include only Chinese "channel" catfish which are grown from young U.S. catfish stock.

Catfish products are also imported to the United States from Vietnam and Thailand where fish from the catfish family are called "tra" or "basa." Among the two percent of seafood imports from Vietnam inspected by the FDA during a recent four-year period, nearly one in every five seafood shipments, including catfish, was contaminated with potentially deadly chemicals or drugs that are banned by the United States in farm-raised catfish, according to the FDA.

In a bipartisan appeal, Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln, D-Ark., chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urged Vilsack to "support a broad definition of catfish that will ensure that catfish products meet the standards for safety that Americans have come to expect from the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

Algae Workshop

2009-10-21T08:43:00.000-05:00

Open Ponds Could Be Key to Algae-Biodiesel Production
1 Comment Posted by John Davis – October 20th, 2009
Rising feed prices for catfish farms and the rising Chinese market are bad news for those in the South, as more than 320,000 catfish pond acres could be up for grabs. But where one door closes, another opens, as a possible glut of open-air ponds could provide a boon for those looking to raise algae for biodiesel.

To explore the possibilities, the National Algae Association Mid-South Chapter is presenting a workshop on November 18-19, 2009 in Memphis, Tennessee at the Holiday Inn Select Hotel, downtown. This association press release says the key speakers will include Barry Cohen, Director of the National Algae Association; Terri Chiang of Biomass Partners, LLC; and Ron Putt of Auburn University:

The workshop’s focus will be highlighted by a motor coach trip to Saul Fish Farm, a leading aquaculture facility in Des Arc, Arkansas where attendees will go on a walking tour to get a first-hand glimpse of the scope and potential for algal open pond production. Rodney Saul, owner of Saul Fish Farm will describe his procedures for growing algae for aquaculture applications. While at the farm, attendees will hear from additional speakers and interact in open forums on algal growing techniques, harvesting, and extraction methods.

Deadline submission for white papers for open pond algal growth systems, technologies, and support equipment is November 1st for review by the executive committee for potential inclusion in the workshop.

“This event is very timely in light of the strong interest in alternatives to expensive, closed-loop algae production systems, says Tamra Fakhoorian, president of the NAA Mid-South Chapter. She continues, “Given the current availability of hundreds of thousands of existing pond acres in the South and new applicable technologies coming on-line, aquaculture farmers and entrepreneurs alike are taking a good look at the economic feasibility of becoming open pond algae farmers. This workshop will address the opportunities, the challenges and late-breaking solutions for open pond production.”

You can get more information on registration here. Early registration goes on through November 4th.

Regulation Isn't Fishy

2009-10-20T07:27:00.002-05:00

Posted on Sun, Oct. 18, 2009 11:08 PM
In Seafood Industry, Regulation Isn't Fishy
By STEVE EVERLY
The Kansas City Star
Breaking News
Suspicious containers found in Lawrence Person of interest identified in fatal Lawrence hit-and-run Recalled baby food may be tainted with botulism Chiefs trade Tank Tyler to Carolina Billy Joel, Elton John coming to KC in December Missouri to lay off 100 state parks workers Jury convicts Raytown man in videotaped killing at south KC bar Woman charged with dropping toddler from balcony Navy recruiter sentenced to 15 years in KC sex sting Truck plunges into south KC creek DNR closes Lake of the Ozarks beach for high E. coli NBC Action Weather | A nice evening; clouds move in Tuesday Burke to enter KC mayor race No one injured after small plane lands in grass Missouri prison population at all-time high Southwest Missouri man killed in hunting accident More charges expected in 2006 group home fire that killed 11 Two-week hospital stay possible for injured KC fire captain KCK man shot to death is identified Former Kansas congressman Glickman to step down as head of MPAA Don’t lump the U.S. seafood industry in with businesses that are sick and tired of big government. This is one sector that wants more regulation, and the sooner the better.

The problem is seafood sold at less than the weight listed on the package, which an industry gathering earlier this year described as “premeditated, organized and intentional” fraud.

Industry groups want regulators to be more aggressive in helping curb the abuse, which has some seafood selling at 10 to 35 percent less than its labeled weight. Though it’s difficult to say just how widespread shortweighting is, the industry fears the losses are substantial for honest vendors and for consumers, given that nearly $23 billion in seafood was sold in the U.S. last year.

“We want to shine a light on this so we can get rid of it,” said Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, the country’s largest seafood trade group, whose members include chain restaurants, wholesalers and fishermen.

The U.S. consumes 5 billion pounds of seafood a year, 80 percent of it imported and most of it frozen. That makes the industry and consumers particularly vulnerable because a package that says, for example, 10 pounds of shrimp is supposed to contain 10 pounds of shrimp — plus any ice. But without a careful thawing, draining and weighing, it’s nearly impossible to tell whether excess ice could be cheating the buyer.

On top of that, the Food and Drug Administration inspects only 2 percent of seafood and focuses on food safety more than possible underweighting.

There are signs the industry’s message is being heard, as the FDA says it is considering a tougher approach and recently issued a warning about ice being wrongly included in listed weights.

“We do take economic fraud seriously,” said Stephanie Kwisnek, a FDA spokeswoman.

State regulators also are looking at the issue, though only a few states routinely check the weight of seafood, in part because it takes special equipment and can be expensive.

Neither Kansas nor Missouri currently performs the tests, but Ron Hayes, Missouri’s division director for weights and measures, said the seafood issue was only recently brought to his agency’s attention.

“Very likely we’ll be doing some testing,” he said.

The nature of the seafood business has long made it vulnerable to some forms of deception, such as substituting a cheaper species of fish for one that can snare a higher price, or making up names that suggest a better — and more expensive — product. Earlier this year, for instance, federal regulators said that calling Vietnamese catfish “white roughy” was misleading.

As for shortweighting, it’s difficult to say how common the problem is because of the lack of comprehensive data, the Government Accountability Office said in a recent report.

But the Better Seafood Board, another industry group seeking to stamp out the fraud, says the practice has become so brazen that one Chinese supplier offered wholesalers three different prices for channel catfish. The more deceptive the weight of a package, the cheaper the price was for a “pound” of fish.

Similar solicitations are appearing in California, which has inspected seafood for decades, said Kurt Floren, who is in charge of weights and measures for Los Angeles County. He said that he first saw evidence of shortweighting more than a decade ago and that awareness of the problem is increasing.
Some Kansas City area wholesalers said they also knew that shortweighted product was available from some suppliers, but they refused to buy it.

Wisconsin is another state that checks for underweighted seafood, and regulators there say they have found “quite a bit of it,” with packages of frozen seafood getting as much as 25 percent of their weight from ice.

“I think it’s a significant problem,” said Judy Cardin, chief of weights and measures for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

An ice glaze is typically applied to help protect seafood from dehydration and freezer burn. But more glaze than needed can be applied, and in any case none of the ice is supposed to be counted as part of the seafood’s weight.

The American Frozen Food Institute, which represents companies that sell frozen seafood, said it was monitoring the issue but had not decided whether there’s a problem that needs increased regulation.

But the industry gathering earlier this year, which a representative of the Frozen Food Institute attended, came to a different conclusion. More than two dozen people representing industry groups, wholesale seafood companies, and state and federal regulators attended the “seafood forum” in May at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency in Gaithersburg, Md.

According to the memorandum summarizing the meeting, there was consensus that shortweighting of seafood was occurring not only in the U.S. but in other countries as well. The summary said further that a concerted effort is needed, including more regulation and consumer education about the fraud.

Industry groups at the forum argued that checking for economic fraud could also improve food safety, because a company that cheated on weight might be more likely to also breach food safety rules.

FDA officials at the forum promised to consider whether such a link existed between food safety and shortweighting.

Perhaps most important for the industry groups, it said it would consider making economic fraud a larger part of its seafood enforcement strategy.

So far, the FDA hasn’t put more resources into inspections for shortweighting, but the industry groups want it to follow through.

“They have a role to play,” said Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute. “That’s what we pay taxes for.”

Where Does Your Catfish Come From?

2009-10-19T07:20:00.000-05:00

10.16.2009 3:00 pm
Poll: What’s the origin of your catfish?
By Harry Jackson Jr.
Email thisShare this Print this Digg Yahoo! Del.icio.us Facebook Reddit Drudge Google Fark Stumble It! The American catfish industry is demanding that the USDA ensure that imported catfish is safe.
This fresh out of Jackson, Miss.: Catfish farmers – a major industry in the Southeast, and growing in Missouri — are demanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture impose the same rules of safety, freshness and cleanliness on imported catfish.
You mean they don’t already? Apparently not. I didn’t know there was a fight about this. Now, I find out that that earlier this year the Alabama Agriculture found antibiotics that are banned in America, in catfish imported from China. As a result the Alabama Ag Commissioner banned the sale of catfish from China.
Catfish Farmers of America want federal legislation that scrutinizes imported fish as closely as American fish.
Also news, the American Agriculture Department doesn’t inspect imported seafood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does that, and according to Alabama, not very well. Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States last year, says the catfish farmers organization. Two percent was inspected by the FDA, says the organization. (Of course it’s infinitely more complicated than that.)
Still,

Does it matter to you where the catfish you buy comes from?

Yes. I always buy American fish.
No. price matters more than origin.
Not my problem. I only eat catfish in Grafton, Ill., where I watch them catch it out of their back doors.

U. S. Catfish Industry Lauches Campaign for Safety

2009-10-19T07:15:00.001-05:00

Friday, October 16, 2009
U.S. Catfish Industry Launches Campaign Urging USDA to Ensure Safety of Imported Catfish
The Catfish Farmers of America this week launched a major advertising and public safety awareness campaign urging the USDA to enact a Congressionally approved law requiring all imported catfish to meet the same stringent health and safety standards as imported beef, poultry and pork.

“We’ve launched this campaign because of the urgency of this health and safety issue,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. “We need Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to enact this law now. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our families. U.S. catfish farmers fully support the toughest and widest-ranging regulations and inspections that will protect American consumers when it comes to catfish—both imported and domestic.”

The Catfish Farmers of America advertising campaign is targeting D.C.-based decision-makers and opinion leaders.

While the USDA currently inspects and ensures the safety of all meat and poultry products sold in the United States, it does not inspect seafood. The inspection of seafood is conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Last year 5.2 billion pounds of seafood were imported into the United States from foreign countries. However, the FDA inspected only two percent of all imported seafood, including catfish, according to the Government Accountability Office.

“There is absolutely no way to determine whether all these imports are safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren’t allowed here in the U.S.,” said Lowery. “We want USDA approval that every catfish product imported into America meets the same rigorous standards for quality and safety as our farm-raised catfish.”

The Catfish Farmers of America started its “All Catfish Should Be Treated Equally” campaign this week because the administration has reached a critical point in the decision-making process for enacting the law.

The U.S. Congress, responding to evidence of serious problems with the quality of imported catfish, voted to move catfish inspections and regulation from the FDA to USDA as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. USDA Secretary Vilsack, who has made food safety one of his top priorities, is now considering whether to require that all imported catfish meet USDA standards, or to include only Chinese “channel” catfish which are grown from young U.S. catfish stock.

Catfish products are also imported to the United States from Vietnam and Thailand where fish from the catfish family are called “tra” or “basa.” Among the two percent of seafood imports from Vietnam inspected by the FDA during a recent four-year period, nearly one in every five seafood shipments, including catfish, was contaminated with potentially deadly chemicals or drugs that are banned by the United States in farm-raised catfish, according to the FDA.

In a bipartisan appeal, Sen. Blanche L. Lincoln (D-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urged Vilsack to “support a broad definition of catfish that will ensure that catfish products meet the standards for safety that Americans have come to expect from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA.)”

www.uscatfish.com
Posted by drskidd at 1:10 PM

Bottom Line from the Hill

2009-10-06T16:41:00.001-05:00

• MISC. Troutman Sanders Public Affairs Group is lobbying for the Catfish Farmers of America of Jackson, Miss. Ben Noble, a former legislative assistant to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), and Robert Leebern, former chief of staff to then-Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), are lobbying on a U.S. Department of Agriculture regulation on inspection of catfish.

Wetlands Program

2009-10-05T08:28:00.001-05:00

Wetlands restoration program signup begins
October 3, 2009

Eligible aquaculture producers, including catfish and crawfish producers, are reminded that signup continues at the Farm Service Agency Office for participation in the Farmable Wetlands Program, an important component of the Conservation Reserve Program.

Authorized incentives include a payment of $100 per acre, an incentive payment of 40 percent of the cost to establish the practice and a 120 percent rental rate.
Land eligibility for the Farmable Wetlands Program, under CRP, now includes land that was devoted to commercial pond-raised aquaculture in any year from 2002 to 2007.
Commercial pond-raised aquaculture means any earthen facility from which $1,000 or more of freshwater food fish were sold or normally would have been sold during a calendar year.
Producers must provide verification of commercial pond-raised aquaculture with supporting records such as feed purchase records, stocker purchase records, harvest and/or sales records.
Aquaculture facilities must be out of production before the effective date of an approved contract. Through FWP, the Farm Service Agency establishes 10-15 year contracts with agricultural producers.
FWP participants must agree to restore the hydrology of the wetlands, to establish vegetative cover which may include emerging vegetation in water, bottomland hardwoods, cypress and other appropriate tree species, and to the general prohibition of using of the enrolled land for commercial purposes, including crawfishing for commercial purposes.
For additional details and information on all new CRP Farmable Wetlands Program initiatives or other FSA conservation programs, contact the local FSA Office. Information is also available on the web at www.fsa.usda.gov.

New disaster programs

2009-10-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

USDA Announces Implementation of Livestock Disaster Assistance Programs

By: Nick Jakusz Posted at: 10/01/2009 09:27 AM

LINCOLN, NE (September 30, 2009) - State Executive Director, Dan Steinkruger announced that producers may begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) at their county FSA office. This permanent disaster program as authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill replaced previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and is funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund.

ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have grazing or feed losses due to insects, adverse weather such as blizzards, tornados, freeze, hail, wildfires, flooding, and colony collapse disorder for honey bees or death loss of farm-raised fish due to contaminated water or excessive heat. ELAP assistance is for losses not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill, specifically the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE). ELAP is being implemented to fill in the gap and provide assistance under other conditions determined to be appropriate and funding is limited to 50 million dollars each year so payments may be prorated.

Eligible livestock under ELAP include beef cattle, alpacas, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, poultry, reindeer, sheep and swine. Physical losses based on actual replacement cost will be considered for honey bees, the hives, and farm raised fish with the exception of catfish.

Producers who suffered losses in calendar year 2008 must provide a notice of loss and application for payment along with supporting documentation to their administrative county office no later than December 10, 2009. Producers who suffered eligible losses between January 1, 2009 and September 10, 2009 must provide a notice of loss no later than December 10, 2009, and an application for payment no later than January 30, 2010. Late filed applications will not be accepted.

For the ELAP program, producers must have suffered losses that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and before Oct. 1, 2011. There is a total $100,000 limitation per crop year that applies to payments received under ELAP, LFP, LIP or SURE.

For more information or to apply for ELAP and other USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance programs, please visit your FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.

Farm Raised Catfish at the Mid-South Fair

2009-09-30T16:25:00.000-05:00

September 30, 2009 12:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time
U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is Fan Favorite at Mid-South Fair
SOUTHAVEN, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Catfish Institute (TCI), along with Chef Ivo Puidak of the “Bass Pro Shops Big Cat Quest” television series, performed cooking demonstrations last weekend at the Mid-South Fair featuring tasty U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. Ken Freeman, of Freeman Outdoor Promotions was also on-hand with the world’s largest mobile aquarium, featuring live catfish, bass and perch.

“U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a product I am proud to support,” said Chef Ivo. “It’s earth-friendly, healthy and versatile. That versatility makes it the perfect substitute in most recipes. Doing cooking demonstrations and providing food samples at the Mid-South Fair is a way to remind people of this great seafood product. It’s American-grown – it just can’t be beat.”

In addition to Chef Ivo’s cooking demonstrations, Freeman provided entertainment through catfish races, in which three participants raced catfish through a drag-strip-style fish corral.

“I enjoy preparing events for people to come and learn about the fish, and have a good time as well,” said Freeman. “The aquarium, catfish races and free food samples draw them over to our area, and then we are able to remind them of the healthfulness and down-home goodness of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.”

TCI representatives were also on-hand this weekend to provide recipe booklets, hand-held “I’m a fan of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish” fans and free bottles of a seafood sauce to help encourage fair-goers to try cooking catfish at home.

Freeman will continue to provide free tastings of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish throughout the week of September 28th.

The Catfish Institute was founded in 1986 by catfish feed mills and their producer members with the goal of raising consumer awareness about the benefits of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. To learn more about U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, view our web site at www.UScatfish.com.

Fed to Review Frozen Fish Fillet Antidumping Order

2009-09-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

(CN) - Catfish Farmers of America convinced the Department of Commerce to reconsider an antidumping order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam.
The agency agreed that it needed to review aspects of the order and asked the Court of International Trade for a remand, which the court granted.
The department will reconsider international freight expense, the valuation of labels, and the calculation of the surrogate value for fish oil for QVC Foods Inc.
The court dismissed the remaining challenges to the antidumping order.

Fisheries Try Farm Raising Bass

2009-09-15T10:10:00.001-05:00

Fisheries try farm-raising bass
Researchers study potential for selling largemouths’ meat
By Mike Linn

PINE BLUFF — For every bass fisherman, there’s a bass story.

One might go something like this: “I hooked a whopper out on Lake Monticello, fought it hard and then watched it jump and spit the hook out. I slammed my rod down. Ah, the one that got away.”

Largemouth bass is the most sought-after freshwater sport fish in Arkansas and in the United States, said Colton Dennis, black-bass program supervisor with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The white, fleshy meat of the bass is good to eat, but unlike catfish and tilapia, it’s not regularly sold in restaurants or supermarkets.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Aquaculture and Fisheries Department are attempting to find out why that’s the case.

They’re conducting studies to see whether it’s cost effective to farm-raise largemouth bass to sell in supermarkets as uncooked filets or to prepare and sell in seafood restaurants.

UAPB Aquaculture and Fisheries Department Chairman Carole Engle said the idea for the project was spawned after UAPB conducted focus group surveys in Little Rockon the marketability of hybrid striped bass.

During the surveys, most of the participants kept steering the conversation to largemouth bass, a fish with which they were more familiar.

“A lot of the people we talked to, regardless which group they were in, liked the idea of largemouth bass filets being available,” Engle said. “They had a very positive attitude toward largemouth bass filets and said they would be very, very receptive to purchasing filets.”

Engle said part of why they’re not widely commercially available now is that feed for largemouth bass, which survive on high-protein diets, is more expensive than feed for catfish. Because of this, largemouth bass filets would have to sell at a higher price than comparable catfish filets in grocery stores and restaurants.

Arkansas has the second largest aquaculture industry in the country, behind Mississippi.

Half of the state’s production is farm-raised catfish, which swim the same rivers and lakes as largemouth bass and are widely available in Arkansas supermarkets, restaurants and even gas stations.

“There are a lot of people who like to eat [largemouth] bass, especially in this state. But it may be that the fish are too expensive to raise compared to what people are willing to pay in the supermarket,” Engle said.

Engle, who earned her doctorate in aquaculture economics from Auburn University in Alabama, said, “We will do an economic analysis to see if it’s feasible.”

In Arkansas, largemouth bass is considered a game fish - just like crappie and trout - and cannot be sold after being caught in the wild, even if the fisherman has a commercial fishing license, said Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

However, largemouth bass can be farm-raised in Arkansas and sold as food by those with a fish-farming license, Stephens said.

That license is available for $25 and can be renewed annually for free.

At Kentucky State University, the university’s division of aquaculture has been farm-raising largemouth bass for nearly 20 years to sell live in markets in Toronto and Chicago.

Jim Tidwell, chairman of the aquaculture department at Kentucky State, said he sells the fish for about $5 a pound live to those markets, and retail buyers purchase the fish for as much as $11 a pound.

Largemouth bass are more expensive to farm-raise than catfish, Tidwell said, noting that catfish feed costs $350 a ton, compared with $800 to $1,000 a ton for bass feed.

A bass has two filets, which together equal about 40 percent of its body weight, Tidwell said.

If a largemouth bass is filleted, it could sell wholesale for about $12 a pound, he said. After markup, the largemouth bass filets could go for $15 or more a pound in a supermarket, Tidwell estimated.

While expensive like swordfish and Chilean sea bass, largemouth bass produced on a fish farm tastes better than bass caught in the wild, Tidwell thinks.

“I don’t really care for wild-caught bass, especially when the water is warm, but these guys raised on pellets, to me, are much better-tasting,” Tidwell said. “They taste just like a great big blue gill [bream]. They’re first cousin to a blue gill, and a blue gill has a real sweet taste that’s really kind of unique.”

There are at least three fish farms in Arkansas that raise largemouth bass to be sold live in seafood markets, said Mike Freeze, a former Arkansas Game and Fish commissioner and the vice president of KeoFish Farms in Keo.

The owner of one of those farms - David Dunn of Dunn’s Fish Farm in Monroe south of Brinkley - said he gets $4.75 a pound for a live bass. His price for filets would be $9.50 a pound, and by the time it would hit the supermarket it could be as high as $16 a pound, he said.

“Right now, people in the United States would not purchase largemouth bass in supermarkets because there’s too many inexpensive alternatives,” Dunn said. “Right now, you can go out and buy steaks for everybody in the family a lot cheaper than you can feed them bass.”

Still, UAPB researchers want to find out what kind of yields they get in the 12 ponds stocked with largemouth bass, four with 7,500 fish, four with 5,000 fish and four with 2,500 fish.

Engle said UAPB will harvest the bass next month, when the fish would be about 18 months old.

“We don’t know yet how big they are,” Engle said. “Part of what we want to find out with this study is whether we’re farm-raising them long enough to get these fish to a size where we can get a filet off.”

Arkansas Senator over Ag Committe

2009-09-10T16:20:00.000-05:00

Ark. Sen. Lincoln new head of Senate ag committee
By JILL ZEMAN BLEED (AP) – 14 hours ago

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Sen. Blanche Lincoln will become the first woman to head the Senate agriculture committee under leadership changes made because of Ted Kennedy's death.

Lincoln, D-Ark., said implementing the new federal farm bill and ending the trade embargo with Cuba are among the top issues facing the Senate panel.

"I've always supported opening up trade with Cuba, and I'll continue to do so. I can't single-handedly make it happen as chairman of the committee," she said Wednesday, adding that she would do her best to keep the issue front and center.

Lincoln takes over from Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who will replace Kennedy as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in a series of leadership changes announced Wednesday.

"As a seventh-generation Arkansan and farmer's daughter, I know my father is smiling down on me today," Lincoln said.

Lincoln is a supporter of government farm subsidies who has served on Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry January 1999. When she was a congresswoman, she served on the House Agriculture Committee from 1993-1995.

Lincoln said the committee has always been a top choice for her during her time in Congress.

"As the chairman, I'm going to again enjoy an elevated opportunity to really help our state, and that's exactly what I'll be aiming to do," she said.

Farm advocates in her home state praised the move, saying they hoped it would increase the state's clout on agricultural issues.

"Agriculture is the largest industry in our state," said Randy Veach, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau. "Her being in that position gives us an opportunity to keep agriculture financially sound and stable."

Lincoln said she ended up first in line for the job because other more senior senators — Sens. Max Baucus, Kent Conrad and Patrick Leahy — already serve as chairmen of other committees.

"The ag committee is a very old committee, and it's also a very senior committee in the sense that most of the members have been on there for quite some time, and that means there's not a lot of turnover in terms of chairmanship," she said.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Lincoln downplayed the notion that the new role would make her more politically powerful as she runs for re-election next year.

"I fully expect there'll be many challengers out there. It's kind of the season for that, I suppose," she said.

Six Republicans have announced bids for Lincoln's seat, and state Senate President Bob Johnson says he's considering challenging her in the Democratic primary. Lincoln has more than $3.2 million cash on hand for her re-election bid.

Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb said he wasn't optimistic that Lincoln would be able to help farmers in the new position, saying Lincoln does not stand firm against President Barack Obama.

A PhD program

2009-09-08T07:25:00.000-05:00

Ark. campus aims for school of fisheries doctors
By: The Associated Press | 04 Sep 2009 |

Studying fish once seemed so simple: find out where they were biting and keep it under your hat. Now the study of fish has evolved into Ph.D.-level programs that can make fish bigger, tastier and a larger part of the nation's economy.

The University of Arkansas' board of trustees on Friday approved a doctoral program for the Aquaculture-Fisheries Center of Excellence at its Pine Bluff campus. It's the first Ph.D. program for the 3,000-student campus at the edge of the Arkansas Delta.

"I don't think I've ever seen a stronger and more positive review" of a program proposal, UA system vice president for university relations Dan Ferritor told the UA system board at a meeting Friday in Little Rock.

The doctoral program could give a boost to Pine Bluff, hurt in recent decades by relocation of railroad jobs to other sites and closure of several industries, as well as by the current recession.

Smaller communities in the depressed Delta region should also benefit, as aquaculture farming operations take advantage of the scientific and practical expertise that UAPB has built up over more than 20 years. The nation's largest fish-feed plant, ARKAT Nutrition, operates in Dumas, population 5,200, working closely with the UAPB program.

While a typical image of fishing involves dropping a line from a bamboo pole, formalized fish farming has been a part of the Arkansas economy for decades.

UAPB opened its Aquaculture-Fisheries Center in 1988 to work with fish farmers of all varieties: catfish farmers raising meat for dining tables, baitfish farmers raising minnows for anglers' hooks, and others raising ornamental goldfish or goldfish that will end up as food for larger ornamentals in aquariums.

All the feeder goldfish raised in the country come from Arkansas, said Carole Engle, the center's director.

In addition to conducting research and training people seeking careers in natural fisheries or fish-farming, the center is a major resource for Arkansas' $130 million fish-farming industry. It also trains people in natural fisheries disciplines who go on to work for agencies like the state Game and Fish Commission and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We've become famous for finding ways to diagnose" problems at fish farms, said Andy Goodwin, the center's associate director and lab chief. Such problems, he said, can involve sick or dying fish, or fish that simply don't grow at the usual rate.

"UAPB has been more proactive in working toward solutions to our recent problems than any other university, with new feed, economics, marketing and management studies," said Joe Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America.

Those problems include fish diseases, nutritional problems, parasites and mechanical difficulties that might affect production, according to UAPB faculty.

Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi are the leading catfish-farming states, with 166 catfish farms in Arkansas, 268 in Alabama and 451 in Mississippi in 2007 — the latest year for which figures are available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Arkansas alone sold about 10 million pounds of catfish that year, the USDA said.

Engle said other schools with fisheries degrees encouraged UAPB to consider a doctoral program, given commercial fishing's importance in the Arkansas and Mississippi deltas. If approved by the state Higher Education Coordinating Board — a step expected by next spring — the first candidates will be accepted in fall 2010. Graduates will likely end up researching in the private sector or teaching.

Since its founding, the Aquaculture-Fisheries Center has graduated 85 people with bachelor's degrees and 55 with master's degrees. Nearly half of the graduate degree recipients went on to pursue doctorates elsewhere. The bulk of those with B.A.s pursued an advanced degree or went to work for government agencies.

Nekea Walker, a recruiter for the fisheries-aquaculture program, said the availability of a terminal-degree track can be a big incentive to students considering the school's undergraduate or master's programs.

"Having a Ph.D. program on this campus not only helps our department, it helps the whole campus," said Walker, who worked in the fisheries programs when she was an undergraduate.

"It helps the whole state," Engle said.

Steeve Pomerleau In New Position

2009-09-03T10:49:00.002-05:00

Our best wishes and high hopes for Steeve Pomerleave, Aquaculture Extension Specialist at UAPB, go with him as he begins a new career as production manager for America's Catch in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Steeve has been a true blessing for the industry and the university.

We thank you Steeve for all of your hard work and dedicattion.

Good Luck!

Arkansas Grown Website Available

2009-09-03T09:24:00.003-05:00

New Arkansas Grown Website Availabe
Laura Wise, Deputy Director of Aquaculture,Arkansas Agriculture Department
The website link listed below was developed by the Arkansas Agriculture Department (AAD) to help potential buyers locate Arkansas producers. Any resident of Arkansas who produces an agricultural product in our state may, at no charge, list their marketing information here. AAD may also make this information available for distribution in other formats.

The information provided is suppled by the producer and its listing does not imply any sponsorship or endorsement by AAD. While an effort is made to verify the information submitted, AAD cannot guarantee its accuracy. The same can be said for links to other websites. THese hyperlinks are provided as a service and we try to ensure their appropriateness. However, AAD does not assume any responsibility for the appropriateness or accuracy of the content of any linked site.

Arkansas Agriculture is diverse in crops and scale of production. So no matter what you are looking for Arkansas farmers probably produce it and we hope the content provided here at ArkansasGrown.org helps you find it.

The site address is: http://www.arkansasgrown.org

Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board

2009-09-03T09:18:00.002-05:00

Governor Mike Beebe has re-appointed Bari Cain of McCrory, Jerry Williamson of Lake Village, and Bill Trout of Dermott to the Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board. Their terms will expire on June 30, 2011.

The Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board is an advisory committee comprised of catfish farmers who oversee the funding of various promotional activities and universtiy research projects.

Times are tough

2009-09-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

Mississippi catfish industry struggles
Sep 2, 2009 9:27 AM, By Bonnie Coblentz, MSU Ag Communications

Mississippi’s catfish industry is facing some major obstacles as producers are dealing with very high feed prices, declining acreage and fierce competition from imported fish.

John Anderson, Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said the most significant influence on catfish prices since the fall of 2008 has been the condition of the overall economy.

“Catfish demand suffered from the economic decline that began in early 2008 and accelerated rapidly with the financial crisis last fall,” Anderson said. “Products like catfish that depend significantly on away-from-home consumption tend to be hurt the worst during a recession.”

As evidence of this weak demand, prices are lower this summer than last year’s prices, and production has also been down by 5 percent to 10 percent.

“Hopefully the economy will move into a recovery phase in the latter half of this year,” Anderson said. “An economic upturn corresponding with less catfish production this year than last should provide the basis for a recovery in prices by sometime this fall.”

Mississippi has just 70,000 acres of catfish ponds, down from a high of 113,000 acres in 2001. The state still leads the nation in catfish production. Feed prices that only a few years ago were about $240 a ton are now $330 a ton.

Jim Steeby, Extension fisheries specialist at the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, Miss., said increasing imports of catfish and whitefish such as tilapia are putting pressure on catfish sales.

“Growers in these countries, especially China, have low-cost labor, favorable currency rates and support from their governments. Their prices are well below those of our domestically produced catfish,” Steeby said. “But their production standards frequently lack integrity.”

The industry is trying to battle imports and establish U.S. farm-raised catfish as a superior product. Recent federal and state labeling laws now require catfish served in restaurants and sold at retail to have country of origin labels.

The industry is also addressing the issue of imports by attempting to move the catfish inspection program from the National Marine Fisheries Service to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Changing the inspecting agency to USDA will mean that imports must meet more stringent requirements for safety and quality,” Steeby said. “The problem with many food imports is that some products contain substances such as antibiotics that do not meet U.S. safety and health standards.”

Steeby said the USDA is setting up this inspection program, which will subject catfish to the same type of food inspection required of poultry and red meat.

“If imports cannot meet these new standards, they will not be allowed in,” Steeby said.

Researchers at MSU continue to work with the industry as it adjusts to economic conditions. Current projects are focused on feed management, possible improvements to the refinement of grains and other feed ingredients, and ways to manage feed budgets more effectively.

“Other researchers at MSU are looking at genetic issues and possibly producing catfish hybrids that have faster growth rates and resistance to common disease organisms,” Steeby said.

In the meantime, Mississippi producers continue to try to find success with catfish.

“Catfish may be headed back to being marketed as a Southeastern specialty as the industry is downsizing,” Steeby said. “Consumers in the Southeast are not likely to accept a substitute product for U.S. farm-raised catfish.”

The Cat's Whiskers

2009-08-27T07:28:00.001-05:00

August may be National Catfish Month, but in Acadiana, that label could apply year-round.
Fried catfish or catfish courtbouillon can be found on many plate lunch menus around the area, especially on Friday.
It can also be found on the menus of fine dining restaurants grilled and swimming in a creamy sauce or covered with crawfish etouffée.
Catfish is a southern favorite, but in some areas, it has the reputation of being a "trash fish."
Roger Barlow, president of the Catfish Institute and executive vice president of the Catfish Farmers of America, explains.
"I think there's been a misperception about catfish that are farm-raised and catfish caught in the wild," Barlow said from his office in Jackson, Miss.
Farm-raised catfish live in earthen ponds and are fed grain pellets, Barlow said. The pellets are made with soybeans, rice, corn or wheat.
"It gives them a slightly sweet flavor," he said.
Farm-raised catfish are trained to rise to the surface during feeding time, unlike their counterparts in the wild, which feed on the bottom of the lake, Barlow said.
Farm catfish grow to 1- to 2 1/2 pounds before they are harvested.
Ninety-five percent of U.S. catfish are raised in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas.
Barlow encourages diners in restaurants and shoppers to make sure the catfish they plan to consume came from a U.S. farm and is not imported fish.
Grilled Citrus Rosemary Catfish
For the catfish:
4 catfish filets
1„2 fresh lemon per fillet
Citrus Sauce:
Zest of one lime

Zest of one lemon

Zest of one orange

Juice of one lime
6 ounces pineapple juice
1„2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1„4 teaspoon salt
Preheat grill. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes.
Place catfish in a shallow dish and squeeze 1„2 fresh lemon over each. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes.
(2 of 2)
Place catfish filets on grill, skin side up for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and grill 2 to 3 more minutes. Transfer catfish to serving plate and spoon over 1 ounce warmed citrus sauce per fillet

Yield: 4 servings
- Source: The Catfish Institute
Baked Catfish Provençal1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1„2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 catfish filets
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1„4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add fresh tomatoes and crushed tomato; cook 3 more minutes until heated through.
While vegetables are cooking, add butter and olive oil to an ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Season both sides of the catfish filets with Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Carefully place the catfish in the skillet; another 2 minutes.
Slowly spoon the vegetable mixture onto each of the catfish filets in the skillet. Place in the oven and cook
for 5 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with Italian parsley. Serve with the pasta of your choice.
Yield: 2 servings
- Source: The Catfish Institute
Baked Cinnamon Chipotle Catfish with Sweet Pepper Slaw4 catfish filets
3 tablespoons olive oil
Cinnamon Chipotle Rub:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1„2 teaspoon garlic powder
1„2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1„2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sweet Pepper Slaw:
1 pound of shredded slaw mix
1 large seedless cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced
1„2 cup red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1„4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to tastePreheat oven to 425 F. To make the slaw, combine all items. Toss well; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the rub, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Lightly brush catfish filets with olive oil; sprinkle with the rub and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat; add remaining olive oil. Add filets and cook 1 minute on each side. Place filets into an oiled baking dish. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until fish flakes easily. Remove from oven and let rest 4 minutes.
Place the sweet pepper slaw on a serving platter. Top with baked catfish fillets.
Yield: 4 servings— Source: The Catfish Institute
Place catfish filets on grill, skin side up for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and grill 2 to 3 more minutes. Transfer catfish to serving plate and spoon over 1 ounce warmed citrus sauce per fillet

Yield: 4 servings

- Source: The Catfish Institute

Baked Catfish Provençal
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1„2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 catfish filets
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1„4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add fresh tomatoes and crushed tomato; cook 3 more minutes until heated through.
While vegetables are cooking, add butter and olive oil to an ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Season both sides of the catfish filets with Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Carefully place the catfish in the skillet; another 2 minutes.
Slowly spoon the vegetable mixture onto each of the catfish filets in the skillet. Place in the oven and cook
for 5 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with Italian parsley. Serve with the pasta of your choice.
Yield: 2 servings

- Source: The Catfish Institute

Baked Cinnamon Chipotle Catfish with Sweet Pepper Slaw
4 catfish filets
3 tablespoons olive oil
Cinnamon Chipotle Rub:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1„2 teaspoon garlic powder
1„2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1„2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sweet Pepper Slaw:
1 pound of shredded slaw mix
1 large seedless cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced
1„2 cup red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1„4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425 F. To make the slaw, combine all items. Toss well; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the rub, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Lightly brush catfish filets with olive oil; sprinkle with the rub and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat; add remaining olive oil. Add filets and cook 1 minute on each side. Place filets into an oiled baking dish. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until fish flakes easily. Remove from oven and let rest 4 minutes.
Place the sweet pepper slaw on a serving platter. Top with baked catfish fillets.
Yield: 4 servings
— Source: The Catfish Institute

Catfish Feeding Frenzy

2009-08-22T17:33:00.001-05:00

Catfish feeding frenzy
Our intrepid taster roves far and wide to find the tastiest spots for catfish — and sides — in three counties, and shares his catches
By GORDON DICKSON

Texans don’t need much of an excuse to chomp down on catfish.
Residents of the Lone Star State eat more of the whiskered bottom-feeders than anyone else, according to the Catfish Institute. The group was founded by farmers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi — the states where catfish is most commonly grown to satiate the appetites of people in Texas and across the South.
"It’s just a regional taste. I don’t know if I’d call it a delicacy, but people grew up with it and really enjoy it," said Larry Richardson, co-owner of the Flying Fish, a casual eatery with locations in west Fort Worth, Dallas, Little Rock, Ark. and other cities.
August is National Catfish Month, according to the institute, which touts the health and economic benefits of catfish farming. So as far as I’m concerned, now is a great time to search the western side of the Metroplex for the best examples of catfish cuisine.
Like many restaurateurs who offer catfish on the menu, the people at the Flying Fish don’t take themselves too seriously. They have a standing offer of a free three-fillet catfish basket to customers who donate a singing fish to the eatery’s official Billy Bass Adoption Center.
I didn’t have a Billy Bass to contribute to the wall, so instead I plunked down what I thought was a reasonable $7 to scarf down a small helping of the flaky white fish, dipped in cornmeal and deep-fried.
During the past several weeks, I went on a catfish feeding frenzy, sampling the fare at numerous restaurants.
My 14-year-old daughter came along for some of the tastings, even though she normally doesn’t eat fish or anything else that swims. She has an aversion to seafood because of an emotionally scarring experience during her elementary school years, when she tried unsuccessfully to raise betta fish as pets. It turned out that keeping bettas alive for more than two weeks at a time required more expertise than our family could offer, and the aquarium has since been retired to the attic.
(Note to other parents: If your young daughter shows an interest in pet fish, do yourself a favor and get her a puppy!)
Anyway, with my wife, daughter and 7-year-old son in tow, I hit a handful of the very best catfish places in Tarrant, Johnson and Wise counties — places with catchy names such as Catfish O’harlie’s, Tucker’s Catfish Haven and even Babe’s Chicken Dinner House.
But our first stop was the most memorable. It was at a legendary place in Arlington called Catfish Sam’s. There, my daughter reluctantly agreed to eat a half-order of catfish, and she was surprised by the clean taste.
"It was crunchy, and it didn’t smell like fish. It’s fresh," she admitted, before turning her attention to the home-style fries. My son agreed, saying he’d like to be locked in the restaurant overnight so he could make room in his stomach to eat everything.
Our experience was an example of the universal appeal of catfish, the experts say. The flavor is so mild and slightly sweet that in most cases the diner detects only a hint of pungency from the pond water in which the creature was raised. Officially certified U.S. farm-raised catfish are fed nothing but nutrient-rich grain pellets for 18-24 months until they’re big enough to harvest, creating a consistently pleasing taste that can be found at discerning restaurants across the U.S.
Eating foreign-grown or wild catfish can be a real hit-or-miss experience, despite what you may hear from Southerners who claim to have caught and eaten perfectly good catfish from the neighborhood canal all their lives. A word of warning to the less adventurous among us: If you’re fishing from a creek with an old bicycle lodged in its muddy bottom, well, it’s safe to assume your bounty won’t taste the same as the stuff from a certified freshwater farm.
And when paying good money for your food, if a restaurant host or manager can’t tell you where the catfish was raised, walk out the door before ordering.

Entergy at odds with consumers, again

2009-08-21T07:15:00.001-05:00

Delta Residents Express Frustration With Entergy’s Repair Policies
Pat Maglothlin said that one Entergy outage cost him $100,000.By Sheila Prescott
"Forty years ago we put a man on the moon, and if we can put a man on the moon we ought to be able to figure out why Parkdale and Wilmot keeps losing power every time it thunders," Senator Jimmy Jeffress told representatives of Entergy and interested citizens during a meeting in Parkdale last week.
"These people pay the same rates as they pay every where else in the state of Arkansas and they ought to be able to depend on their power. If Entergy can't figure out what the problem is then I think they ought to say so and we'll see if we can't find somebody else who could," the state senator said.
The purpose of the meeting, held in the conference room at Bayou Grain in Parkdale, was to voice concerns about two recent storm outages and other issues, including the time that repairs required. Entergy customers and concerned citizens discussed outages that affected Wilmot and Parkdale on June 30, July 1 and July 16 and other issues to Entergy representatives on Tuesday, Aug. 4. In addition to the storm outages, those present complained about Entergy's automated outage reporting system, blinking lights and policies.
"Our number one priority for our employees; as well as our customers and the environment is safety," Diane Tatum, Regional Customer Service Manager with Entergy, said to a standing room only crowd. "We will not compromise that, and we do not take shortcuts."
Tatum explained Entergy's procedure during an outage and summarized the two recent storms. The first storm, she said was on June 30 with outages continuing in to July 1. Those outages, she said, were widespread and affected Wilmot, Parkdale, Lake Village, Dermott, McGehee and Dumas. Crews were called in from Crossett, El Dorado and Warren to assist in restoration, said Tatum, who added that travel time and obtaining equipment from other areas further delayed restoration time. Tatum said electricity was fully restored 15 hours and 45 minutes following the first outage report. The second storm, Tatum said occurred on July 16 and resulted in a power failure lasting several hours.
Although Tatum stated that Entergy reflected 491 customers without power during one of the storms, Ron Moore, General Manager of Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative, said one of the outages was a breaker that provides electricity to 400 Ashley-Chicot Electric customers. "You didn't have 491, you had 891," said Moore.
Diane Tatum, Entergy Regional Customer Service Manager for South Arkansas, comments to customers and concerned citizens during a public meeting held at Bayou Grain in Parkdale on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Entergy has policies in place to restore power after a storm, according to Tatum. The first step, she said, is to send out scouts to assess damage to equipment and facilities to determine corrective actions. Large transmission lines are restored followed by substations that transport power to local areas. The next step, she said is to restore electricity to emergency services, life support facilities and communications networks and then to feeder lines that serve large numbers of customers and neighborhoods. The final restoration is individual service.
"This is one of the rules we operate in with respect to maintenance and responding to outage, ‘The customer experiencing a service outage that does not result in an emergency, the electric utility should make every reasonable effort to restore service not later than 24 hours after the outage is reported'," she said.
In regards to first outage, County Judge Emory Austin stated that he called and spoke to a "Jeremy" with Entergy and was told that downed power lines and poles had created the outages in the two cities. However, Austin said he was in the Delta when he placed the call after he failed to see an obvious cause. "Where were the poles broke and where was the downed wire?" asked Austin. "They weren't."
John Montgomery, Entergy Area Line Supervisor for Lake Village-McGehee, said that there were wire and poles down in the Dermott area. The person Austin spoke with, he said, may not have been aware of the distance between the two areas and repeated the last information he was given.
Montgomery further explained that before power could be restored, someone had to ride out the line and find the cause of the outage. In addition, he said, power failed in Dermott and Lake Village before it went out in Wilmot and Parkdale. "The point is the crews were already out working," he said.
John Montgomery, Entergy Area Line Supervisor for Lake Village/McGehee, shown right, explains the procedure of power restoration to Wilmot Mayor Archie Walker, shown left. Shown center is Audie Foret, Entergy Regional Operations Manager for South Arkansas.
Ron Miller with Bayou Grain stated those affected by the storm were misinformed as to when power would be restored. Miller said a number of businesses decided not to open based on Entergy's two day predicted outage time.
"We had already figured out that the only thing wrong in Parkdale, Ark., a tree or something was down and that was the only thing wrong in the whole world. We were sitting here making decisions," he said. "It is a communication problem and you need to evaluate how you are handling the structure of your people."
Montgomery said the estimated time was the predicted time it would take to restore power to the entire system. Damage to Dermott was substantial, he added.
"It was estimated that it would take two days to get Dermott back on, but they actually got them back on in one day, thank God, but that is where the estimate came from," said Montgomery.
In the district which begins at Grady and extends to the Louisiana line, Montgomery said there are five service men and 17,000 customers.
Doris Hammond noted that there are a lot of elderly in the Wilmot and Parkdale area and that it is difficult to report an outage through Entergy's system when electricity fails in the middle of the night.
"When we call it at night, this has always been a pet peeve of mine. I have a flashlight and I have learned to keep my account number there. Otherwise, I don't get to talk to anyone," said Hammond. "It helps a person when you're sitting up there sweating at 3 o'clock in the morning to hear a voice say, ‘I am so sorry,' and I worked with call centers so I know what I am talking about, but it so much more helpful instead of that repetitive thing, ‘Please, give your account number'."
Jackson Currie said he hates calling the Entergy 800 number and said he would prefer to speak to someone who knows the area and the cause of the outage instead of someone who is unfamiliar with the area.
"I know I should expect power to go out in some storms. It's not a problem for me that it takes time to fix, and certainly I would never want anyone to be harmed. Here's my problem, it goes out every storm. Here's why I don't think it's right because my friends from Little Rock tell me, ‘It never goes out up here'," said Currie, adding that maybe it is an exaggeration, but, "Meanwhile it goes out down here every time we have a storm and sometimes when we don't have a storm."
In response to Currie's comment Wayne Branton, a fish farmer in Wilmot, said, "I think Entergy would be well served if it would look at Ashley-Chicot [Electric Cooperative]'s system. We have a catfish farm, and I can guarantee you if at 3 o'clock in the morning if we called, we have the service men's cell phone numbers, and within two hours they are going to be on our farm," said Branton. "If it's an Entergy problem, we've got a big problem, but they can fix their problem. So you might be well served in looking at Ashley-Chicot. Look at their system, their emergency system and see how they can assist. They're a lot smaller than you all are, and we can pick up the phone and call the people and not 800 numbers, and that's one of the problems. I take my hat off to Ashley-Chicot, and maybe you ought to look at their system and their policies to see how they do it cause they do a heck of a good job."
Montgomery stated that Entergy has top notch equipment to provide service to its customers and does not know why Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative does not have similar issues. "I just don't know, Jerry [Moore, Ashley Chicot’s Operations Superintendent] and they may have a magic wand over there on Ashley-Chicot. I think they've just been 'explicit' lucky," he added.
In other service related issues, Miller said once after Montgomery finished a job at Bayou Grain and left, a transformer blew. Miller said he called Montgomery and was told to call the service center. However, he said, before he could hang up the phone reporting the problem, a construction driver passing by and watching someone load corn hit and snapped an electric pole. The line, he said posed a risk of landing on a metal building. When the service man arrived to change the transformer, Miller said he refused to repair or secure the downed power line stating that it was against Entergy's policy.
"Sometimes your system is skewed against safety because of the way you're trying to be more efficient," said Miller.
Montgomery stated that a service man has a bucket truck and cannot change a pole without proper equipment, "and so what happened when the service man got here and saw a broke pole all he could do...,"
However, before Montgomery completed his statement, Miller interrupted saying, "I disagree that he could have done nothing. One line down with the electricity useless, he could have pulled the other fuses or went back to the highway and pulled the fuses. It was an unsafe situation to have a broken pole over a bunch of metal bins. You should have killed me totally out at the highway and I think it's not him [the service man]. If you think I am fussing at him you're wrong. I think it's your system, not the [service] man," said Miller.
Audie Foret, Regional Operations Manager for South Arkansas, agreed with Miller stating that Entergy provides storm and restoration training to its employees based on the concept to isolate, protect and govern public safety and health as its top priority.
"It's a culture change; folks are used to us rewarding them and patting them on the back for getting it done. The guy who used to break the rules and bend the rules was rewarded, he was promoted, and now we're sending that same man home because we're telling him we don't want him to get hurt," Foret said. "The situation that you're referring to should not have occurred. I'm not going to say that's definitely attributed to a culture change with the individual but I can tell you as management with Entergy it's not the system we have constructed."
Foret said he will follow up on that situation with the individual involved in the incident at Bayou Grain and Chemical.
"We are going to have to get more information on that as far as with that individual and find out where the gaps are, but I will agree with you he should have isolated that and made sure your facility was safe for your fellows to be here. He shouldn't have left that with two phases hot," said Foret.
Pat Maglothin, an Entergy customer in Boydell, said one outage cost him $100,000 in catfish, and that according to Entergy's records, his ponds have been out 19 times in the past two years. During the $100,000 loss outage, he said, one of Entergy's scouts drove by a thrown switch three times but did not stop to reset it.
"I finally went down and found your service personnel. He told me he could not reset that switch because he had a call that there was more people out in Lake Village," said Maglothin, adding that each of his wells cost $2,000 a month in electricity. "You all are serving 100 percent government entities," he added.
Maglothin also complained about the difficulty he has had in obtaining information during an outage and making payments since the company closed the Lake Village facility. Entergy now utilizes the space as a warehouse. In response to Maglothin's complaint, Montgomery said, "Our intent is not to just serve warm bodies, we do have stipulations to get the lights, wells, irrigation accounts and all accounts are high priority. They don't come before hospitals, they don't come before police departments, fire departments, but do come before warm bodies. We know there is an investment by that customer, and we try or at least I try diligently if I know there is an irrigation account or a fish farm out. We give them high priority."
Office of Emergency Management Officer Jim Skender stated that communication is crucial and suggested working with Entergy to implement changes in their communication system. Skender said he works closely with emergency agencies throughout the county and has contact information for Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative and offered his assistance to Entergy representatives. Skender also suggested that instead of customers providing their account numbers to report outages that Entergy consider adjusting its systems to allow customers to give their physical address instead. Skender said Friday that he met with Judge Austin Wednesday to further discuss possible solutions.
As the meeting drew to a close, Foret stated that while not all suggestions were feasible that he planned to implement change to better serve customers in Wilmot and Parkdale and asked to return in six months to discuss those accomplishments.
Jeffress agreed that holding a second meeting to review those changes was a good idea. The senator asked Judge Austin to mark his calendar for Feb. 4, 2010 as the date for the second meeting with Entergy representatives.
A representative of the Arkansas Public Service Commission present at the meeting said he will be following progress and any corrective measures taken by Entergy

Let's cook!

2009-08-21T07:02:00.000-05:00

August 20, 2009 01:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time
U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Showcased on Regional TV News
JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two culinary artists recently used their talents to offer recipe ideas and cooking demonstrations featuring U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish on regional television stations across much of the South.
Dolores Fratesi, a culinary instructor and catfish farmer from Leland, Miss., and Lee Richardson, executive chef at Ashley’s restaurant in Little Rock, Ark., conducted the on-air demonstrations and interviews, which reached viewers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Their efforts sought to draw attention to National Catfish Month – celebrated throughout the month of August – and honor American catfish farmers while showcasing the tasteful versatility of the popular fish.
“Dolores and her family are Mississippi catfish farmers and understand as well as anyone the importance of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, and Lee, as a professional chef, is dedicated to sustainable cooking and often showcases U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish on his menu. I’m very pleased to have these talented people speaking on behalf of our industry,” said Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute.
Ms. Fratesi appeared on WLBT in Jackson, Miss., WABG in Greenville, Miss., WCBI in Columbus, Miss., and WREG in Memphis, Tenn. Chef Richardson appeared on KARK in Little Rock, Ark.
Both Richardson and Fratesi agree that U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a great fit for most recipes. “We try to create updated dishes, modified from old recipes, using ingredients that are more colorful, flavorful and sustainable,” Fratesi said.
To view a sample of the recipes prepared by Fratesi and Richardson, including Catfish Po’boys with Pesto and Red peppers, Catfish Lafitte, and Fried Catfish, visit http://www.UScatfish.com.

Catfish Inspection

2009-08-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009
Time to finish the details of the Catfish Inspection Program

The 2008 Farm Bill set out a number of broad issues — priorities if you will. However, those priorities are often put to the side when it comes to the government agencies charged with writing the rules and regulations. Or the issue can be starved to death for lack of funding.
Such could be the case with the Catfish Inspection Program. The United States Department of Agriculture is writing the rules to start such an inspection program and it will also need funding for the program to be fully implemented. There are two very important elected officials who will have a direct hand in providing that funding: Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, who serves on the House Agriculture Appropriations Sub-Committee.
There is pressure on some members of Congress to scuttle the inspection program because it would require foreign producers of catfish — China and Vietnam — to adhere to the same regulations U.S. producers have to follow, and that has created some push back. Vietnam has threatened a trade war and informed lawmakers from beef producing states that export to Vietnam that it is concerned about what form the catfish regulations might take.
Here is the simple answer lawmakers should give to any who question the prime directive to keep the American food supply chain safe: Back off. With the reputation foreign producers have in the world they should be thankful to see a USDA stamp on their exports. But no, they are far from happy because the manner in which they raise their fish does not, many times, meet U.S. standards. The Consumer Federation of America reported that the FDA had “rejected catfish products imported from China, Thailand and Vietnam, a total of 31 times” since June 2008. “In the majority of the cases, (these fish contained) unsafe animal drug residues ... and five of the imports from Vietnam were also prohibited from entering the U.S. because they were filthy, putrid, or because they tested positive for salmonella.”
The Chinese and Vietnamese have known these inspections would eventually come; still, they haven’t cleaned up their act or their fish. That will continue if regulations are stalled or underfunded. With the number of fish imported from suspect countries, Congress and the FDA have a duty to make those imports as safe as domestically produced fish. To do otherwise is fiscally and morally wrong.
— Charles E. Richardson,

Catfish Journal Correction

2009-08-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

August 19, 2009 03:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time
CORRECTING and REPLACING Urner Berry Calls for USDA Inspection of Catfish
CORRECTION...by Catfish Farmers of America
JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.
The corrected release reads:
URNER BERRY CALLS FOR USDA INSPECTION OF CATFISH
Urner Berry, the nation’s oldest commodity market news reporting service, offered validation for the U.S. catfish industry’s call for USDA inspections by way of an article published today in the Urner Barry’s FTD Trade Alert e-newsletter.
In the commentary, author Richard E. Gutting Jr. underscored concerns over the safety of imported seafood and states that increased inspections will help, and not hinder, U.S. seafood importers.
“Like eggs, salmonella is a persistent hazard for farmed seafood, and so is the illegal use of veterinary drugs,” Gutting stated. “Unlike eggs, most seafood is imported, so regulating American farmers alone won’t fix the problem.”
Gutting said the FDA’s current strategy of issuing Import Alerts to control contaminated seafood “is unfair – and it isn’t working. Import refusals of seafood persist, and the number of Import Alerts and shippers subject to mandatory testing is growing. Few importers can control farming operations thousands of miles away, and as the experts point out – you can’t test your way out of food-safety problems.”
Rather, Gutting supports a more direct approach to work with the exporting countries to help them improve the safety of their products.
“You can, however, improve safety through government-to-government equivalency agreements, backed up by audits of foreign regulators and by government inspections,” Gutting said. “This is the strategy pursued by other countries for seafood and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for meat and poultry – and it’s the strategy that will go into effect this December for catfish.”
Under the proposed new USDA regulations, said Gutting, U.S. catfish farmers, consumers and seafood importers alike all stand to benefit from increased food safety inspections.
“The government-to-government system works because it places responsibility where it needs to be – on foreign regulators and producers – rather than on importers,” Gutting said.
The information obtained from the “Urner Barry’s FTD Trade Alert” e-newsletter is comprised of the opinions of Richard E. Gutting Jr., and not necessarily those of Urner Berry.
Contacts

Alabama labeling

2009-08-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

State legislation friendly to agriculture
Aug 19, 2009 9:26 AM, By Paul L. Hollis, Farm Press Editorial Staff
"In recent years, imported catfish from Vietnam and China has flooded the U.S. market despite repeatedly testing positive for chemicals and antibiotics banned in this country."
Farm group leaders in the lower Southeast are claiming victories during state legislative sessions this year despite the constraints placed on lawmakers by budget shortfalls in every state.
In Alabama, a catfish labeling bill — HB 473 — passed easily and has been signed into law by Gov. Bob Riley. In recent years, imported catfish from Vietnam and China has flooded the U.S. market despite repeatedly testing positive for chemicals and antibiotics banned in this country.
The passage of the bill is being hailed as a victory for Alabama catfish farmers by Alabama Farmers Federation Catfish Division Director Mitt Walker.
The new labeling requirements take effect in August. The Alabama Department of Public Health, which is charged with enforcing the labeling standards, will develop rules related to the new law and will likely request comments from the public. To make compliance easier and less costly, Alabama Catfish Producers has agreed to provide free signs, menu stickers and table tents to restaurants serving U.S. farm-raised catfish. Alabama is the nation’s second-largest producer of farm-raised catfish.

National Catfish Month

2009-08-18T16:09:00.001-05:00

Pine Bluff - As the U.S. commemorates August as National Catfish Month, producers in Arkansas and across the country are grappling with high feed costs and a drop in sales, experts say.“The last two years have been especially difficult for the U.S. catfish industry, probably the most difficult years in its half a century history, and several farmers have been forced out of the business,” said Steeve Pomerleau, an Extension aquaculture specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Work on off flavor

2009-08-18T11:16:00.000-05:00

Taste-testing keeps state's catfish flavorful
By Rebekah RayDelta Research and Extension Center
STONEVILLE — Consumers expect nothing less than the best from Mississippi’s pond-raised catfish industry, and this keeps researchers at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center conducting taste tests on the popular fish.

Mississippi State University researcher Craig Tucker collects catfish from ponds, immediately fillets and microwaves them and then tastes the product for any off-flavors. (Photo by MSU Delta Research and Extension Center/Rebekah Ray)
“Pond-raised catfish should have a very mild flavor,” said Craig Tucker, director of the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville. “Off-flavored catfish creates a severe economic hardship for catfish farmers because the fish are not marketable. Off-flavor prevents the timely harvest of fish, raises production costs, interrupts cash flow and disrupts the transfer of fish to processors.”
MSU researchers have developed a chart describing the many individual flavors detected in pond-raised catfish. Acceptable or positive flavors include chickeny, buttery, nutty and sweet corn. Negative flavors include fishy, stale, metallic, woody, earthy, musty and moldy.
In checking for flavor, researchers collect catfish from a pond and immediately fillet them. In the lab, the samples are washed in clean water, and the unseasoned fillets are briefly microwaved. Trained taste-testers then assess the aroma and flavor of the unseasoned samples, which are then ranked on a numerical scale.
“If the sample is off-flavor, harvesting in that pond is delayed until the problem can be corrected and the flavor improved,” Tucker said.
For the past 18 years, research associate Margaret Dennis has helped set up taste tests at the aquaculture center. She said becoming a taste-tester requires time and training.
“When I began, I could not tell much difference in the subtle flavors of catfish, but after going through the training process, I learned how to do it,” Dennis said.
Off-flavor problems can originate from several sources, including diet, pollution and the environment. While catfish off-flavors from diet are possible, it is rare in pond-raised fish, which are usually fed high-protein commercial feed of soybeans, corn, wheat, vitamins and minerals. During the winter months, however, farmers may not routinely feed their fish, and fish forage on natural foods and develop undesirable flavors.
“Sometimes even in the controlled environment of catfish ponds, we find off-flavors that result from fish eating foods such as detritus and other organic materials located on the bottom of ponds,” Tucker said.
Most flavor problems are caused by odorous compounds produced by microorganisms naturally occurring in the water. Algae or bacteria are released into water and absorbed through fish gills or skin, or into the intestinal tract. The compounds are deposited in fatty tissues and produce undesirable off-flavors. Although these compounds are harmless, they have an intense odor.
“The most common off-flavors have been described as earthy, muddy, moldy or musty, and these result from blue-green algae. The only way to know what algae are present in a pond is to examine the pond water under a microscope,” Tucker said.
Musty or muddy off-flavors develop rapidly and disappear more slowly. Once the flavor develops, the key is to eliminate the algae causing the problem and let the fish naturally purge the chemical.
“After treating the pond with an algaecide, fish should be sampled daily for flavor quality because the musty or muddy off-flavors usually disappear from fish within a few days in warm water,” Tucker said.
-30-
Released: Aug. 13, 2009Contact: Dr. Craig Tucker (662) 686-3286

Arkansas Catfish Farmer of the Year, Dennington Moss, featured in a new national advertising campaign

2009-08-14T17:15:00.002-05:00

Each year, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi – the four states that produce the majority of the nation’s catfish – recognize one of their most respected and successful farmers per state as “Catfish Farmer of the Year.” The Catfish Institute (TCI), the marketing arm of the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry, is once again featuring these four farmers in a new national advertising campaign. The print ads debut during National Catfish Month in publications including Cooking With Paula Deen and Saveur, among others.

The 2009 Catfish Farmers of the Year include: Townsend Kyser of Greensboro, Ala.; Dennington Moss of Lake Village, Ark.; Brandon Haring of Wisner, La., and Joe Ogelsby of Indianola, Miss.

“These leading producers are very deserving of national recognition due to their contributions to our industry,” said TCI president Roger Barlow. “They have worked hard to create a healthy, home-grown product – U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish – and we are proud to feature these outstanding American farmers in our new marketing campaign.”

In addition to the Farmers of the Year, TCI’s new campaign features recipe photography and draws attention to the fish’s versatility, as well as healthful and earth-friendly attributes.

Aquaculture Expert Supports USDA Inspections for Catfish

2009-08-07T21:02:00.001-05:00

August 07, 2009 09:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time

JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carol Engle, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), recently offered a scientific foundation for her support of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspections for catfish sold in the United States.

Dr. Engle, a respected agricultural economist and leading aquaculture researcher, has spent years studying global aquaculture practices and makes her remarks following two recent trips to review the Vietnamese aquaculture industry.

In Dr. Engle’s statement, she acknowledges that consumers in the U.S. are concerned with food safety, especially that of imported seafood products, which account for the majority of U.S. seafood consumption. As America imports more and more of its seafood, she notes it is imperative that regulations on seafood are adequate to ensure the safety of the nation’s consumers.

Excerpts from Dr. Engle’s commentary:

“The USDA is the agency that has worked with agriculture and with farmers and has been charged with regulating agriculture in many ways. This is the agency that really deserves quite a bit of the credit for the safety of our food supply because they understand the entire farming system – what it takes from the beginning to the end of the product.

“When you look at a product like catfish, catfish is part of agriculture. It’s treated as agriculture in many respects in terms of other regulatory issues. It is a type of farming. The difference is that catfish are farmed in water rather than in crop fields. But it is a form of agriculture. So, on one hand it simply makes sense for catfish regulations and inspections to be treated as any other form of agriculture.

“On the other hand, there’s another important reason why USDA inspections may be better suited for catfish. This is because USDA operates under a principal of equivalency. What this means is that one standard… one set of guidelines… is set. So regardless of where the product is coming from, the same standards apply. The standards are set to ensure the safety of the product regardless of where it comes from.”

Dr. Engle describes one of the major differences between U.S. and Vietnamese aquaculture:

“The major difference in all of this is the source of the water. Fish obviously live in the water, but they also take up whatever is in the water itself. In the United States, on catfish farms, the source of water is primarily from wells – ground water that has been filtered down through the layers of rock and soil.

“In Vietnam, the majority of fish being raised are raised in the Mekong delta region of Vietnam. Because there’s so little land, daily life really occurs on the water. What this means is that discharges of any kind of waste whatsoever are discharged directly into these waters. This includes discharges from factories, farms and run-off from different locations. It also includes human sewage and human waste, because Vietnam simply does not have the type of sewer systems that we have in the U.S. What is going on would not be allowed in the U.S.”

For more information about the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry and its support of USDA inspections for catfish, or to view a full video of Dr. Engle’s commentary, visit www.UScatfish.com.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6025731&lang=en

August marks National Catfish Month, continuing economic challenges for producers

2009-08-07T11:23:00.003-05:00

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - As the U.S. commemorates National Catfish Month, producers in Arkansas and across the country are grappling with high feed costs and a drop in sales.

"The last two years have been especially difficult for the U.S. catfish industry, probably the most difficult years in its half a century history, and several farmers have been forced out of the business," said Steeve Pomerleau, an Extension aquaculture specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

High catfish feed prices, driven by higher soybean and corn costs, is one of the biggest challenges facing catfish producers. Average catfish pond bank prices have remained at about 77 cents per pound since 2007. While this price is above the long-run average of 70 cents per pound, production costs have risen faster than prices have increased. Meanwhile, imports have increased to capture 20 percent of the U.S. catfish market. While catfish imports from China have dropped 44 percent since 2008, tra and basa fish from Vietnam remain among the top imports.

"Many farmers are forced out of business by this perfect storm of high feed prices, low pond bank fish prices, increased competition from cheaper imported fish from Asia, and diminishing demand due to the slower economy," Pomerleau said.

However, many catfish farmers in Arkansas have been able to remain in business by scaling back their operation, he said.

"Some farmers dropped their water acreage significantly and also stocked less fish per water acre in an attempt to minimize their operating expenses to a sustainable level," Pomerleau said.

To try to keep catfish feed prices down, feed mills have developed new feed formulations. Because the performance of the formulations on catfish growth and feed conversion ratios were basically unknown, the UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center has been studying them over the last two years.

"We've partnered with the industry to scientifically test the performance of some of those new feed formulations in tanks and ponds and to provide the industry with reliable data from which to make decisions," Pomerleau said.

The UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center has also conducted workshops to assist catfish farmers with financial management issues during difficult times.

Thanks to economic stimulus legislation which called for $50 million in assistance, U.S. fish farmers are getting some help at the federal level. Arkansas received $7.8 million of those funds, said Ted McNulty, aquaculture director for the Arkansas Agriculture Department.

"On July 20, the Aquaculture division dispersed $7,131,909.36 in checks to 122 farmers," he said. "The farmers received the difference between the previous five-year average cost for feed and their average 2008 cost of feed times the tons of feed purchased in 2008 -- up to $100,000. The Arkansas Agriculture Department-Aquaculture Division received the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Sen. Blanche Lincoln was responsible for getting the funds included in the Act."

McNulty said the previous five-year average cost of feed was $235 per ton and most farmers paid between $375 and $425 a ton in 2008.

Despite the challenges that the industry faces, catfish farming continues to play an important role in the state's economy. Producers are striving to make the production process as efficient as possible and are studying new marketing strategies and products to increase their market share and improve the price they obtain for their fish.

"The catfish industry contributes about 3,500 jobs to the Arkansas economy and about $500,000 in total economic impact," said UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Center Director, Dr. Carole Engle, adding that catfish boasts many benefits.

"It's a safe product that is raised in well water, fed grains, subjected to numerous regulations and inspections by state and federal agencies, and self-imposed by the industry to ensure that it meets high quality standards," she said.

It's also a sustainable product that is very versatile.

"Catfish is locally grown and is one of the most environmentally sustainable types of seafood available," Engle said. "It is a great-tasting, healthy, high-protein, low-fat product that is excellent for frying, grilling, baking and stir frying."

She urged that consumers ask to ensure that what they are buying is U.S. farm-raised catfish.

Congress designated August as National Catfish Month the late 1980s to highlight the contributions that the U.S. catfish industry makes to the nation's economy, while providing consumers with a healthy, safe and great-tasting food.

For a variety of catfish recipes including southwestern pan-fried catfish, cheesy catfish, catfish gumbo and creole catfish cakes, visit www.uscatfish.com.

By: Bobbie Crockett
Extension Specialist - Communications
School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Mr. Food® Celebrates National Catfish Month

2009-08-04T18:13:00.001-05:00

August 04, 2009 05:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time

JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nationally syndicated television chef Mr. Food® celebrated National Catfish Month today in a segment that featured a new Greek recipe for U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.

“In honor of August being National Catfish Month, we’re celebrating this truly all-American fish,” said Mr. Food®. “And since catfish is farm-raised right here in the states in eco-friendly ponds, you know we’ve got goodness in every bite. And talk about reasonable; we can make a fancy dish like this, for the whole family, for less than it would cost for one person to go out.”

“We’re so happy to have Mr. Food bringing our product to a national television audience,” said Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute. “Today, more than five million households saw the versatility and healthful benefits of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.”

To view the recipe and to watch a video of how to prepare Mr. Food’s Greek Style Catfish recipe, please visit the link below:
http://www.mrfood.com/recipe_detail.aspx?item_guid=28a72bc4-2ab4-4706-88f0-bcf23593db00.

This message brought to you by The Catfish Institute. For more information, visit http://www.UScatfish.com.

August is National Catfish Month!

2009-07-31T14:54:00.003-05:00

Celebrate by Supporting American Agriculture

JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To honor the hard work and innovations of U.S. catfish farmers, the month of August was designated as National Catfish Month in the late 1980s. But the U.S. catfish industry’s contributions to our nation’s health and economy have never been more vital than they are today, as illustrated by recent imported seafood scares.

Of course, it’s the perfectly mild flavor that made U.S. catfish so popular in the first place, and the strict standards of U.S. catfish farmers ensure superior freshness and taste. Blackened, broiled, grilled or fried – U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish works in virtually any recipe, which makes celebrating National Catfish Month pretty easy. Just make sure to look for the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish seal in the grocery store, and ask before you order if you don’t see it on the menu at your favorite restaurant.

“August is National U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Month, and it’s a great opportunity to enjoy the many delicious preparations of this versatile, all-American fish,” says Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute (TCI). “Long-regarded as a Southern staple, U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is now being embraced across the country not only because of its health benefits, quality assurance and environmental safety, but also because it is American-grown and widely available.”

U.S. catfish are raised in pure freshwater ponds and fed a nutrient-rich diet of floating grain pellets. This extremely eco-friendly farming practice also eliminates the “fishy” taste found in other varieties of fish.

The majority of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is produced on family-owned farms in the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, where many of these growers are second- or third-generation farmers. Since the farms and processing plants exist in primarily rural areas, catfish farming provides a significant source of revenue and employment.

“Our goal at TCI is to educate consumers about what a wonderful, home-grown product we have in U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish,” says Barlow. “When consumers purchase catfish labeled with the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish seal, they are supporting our nation’s farmers and providing jobs to tens of thousands of Americans.”

Remember the hardworking American farmers during National Catfish Month and purchase products grown in the U.S.A., including U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.

This August, try Grilled Catfish Over Mixed Salad Greens as a healthy, tasty option for your family.

Grilled Catfish Over Mixed Salad Greens

2 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets
1/4 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon)
1 small shallot, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups mixed salad greens such as arugula, chicory, escarole, mustard and radicchio, washed and torn into bite-size pieces and dried

1. Place catfish fillet strips and mushrooms in a shallow dish. Mix olive oil, vinegar, tarragon, shallot, salt and pepper in a small bowl using a wire whisk until well blended.
2. Pour two-thirds of the marinade over the catfish. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate. Reserve remaining marinade to use as salad dressing.
3. Prepare a grill or preheat the broiler.
4. Place catfish fillets on an oiled grill rack or broiler pan rack. Grill or broil 4 inches from the heat source for 2 or 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Allow to cool slightly; serve warm.
5. Toss salad greens, mushrooms and reserved marinade in a large bowl. Top with grilled catfish.

For more information, visit http://www.uscatfish.com.

Food Safety Organizations, U.S. Congressman Voice Support for USDA Inspections for Catfish

2009-07-29T16:47:00.003-05:00

July 29, 2009 04:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time

JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In letters sent last week to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, three of the nation’s largest food safety watchdog groups and a U.S. Congressman voiced their support for USDA inspections for domestic and imported catfish species, as mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill.

The first letter was sent jointly by the Consumer Federation of America, the largest consumer group in the United States; Food and Water Watch, the largest public interest food watchdog group; and Safe Tables Our Priority, a coalition of consumer and food safety advocates, on July 23, 2009.

Excerpts from the jointly signed letter:

“We hope you will use the new responsibility given to the USDA by the 2008 Farm Bill to design a program that requires specific safety standards for both domestic and imported catfish, as the agency currently does for meat and poultry,” the letter stated, speaking to Sec. Vilsack.

“Consumers have good reason to demand that imported catfish be raised and processed under similar safety standards as domestic catfish. Since June 1, 2008, the FDA has rejected catfish products imported from China, Thailand and Vietnam a total of thirty one times. Thailand was responsible for two refusals, China was responsible for thirteen, and Vietnamese catfish products were rejected a total of sixteen times.”

“The intent of Congress in creating this new inspection program for catfish was to assure that catfish was safely produced and processed for consumers. Since the majority of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported, it is crucial that any new standards and inspection program for catfish apply to both domestic and imported species.”

In a separate letter to Sec. Vilsack from Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell, the lawmaker recalls a trip to tour Vietnamese seafood processing facilities in December 2008, where he noted the aquaculture conditions were less than favorable and the fish were unfit for American consumption.

Excerpts from Congressman Boswell’s letter:

“Currently there is no mandate to inspect or certify that foreign seafood plants meet standards equivalent to those in the United States, though such mandates exist for other meat proteins,” Boswell stated in his letter to Sec. Vilsack.

“During my most recent trip to the Mekong Delta, I saw the putrid conditions in which these fish are raised. I saw raw sewage and drainage pipes leading directly into the Mekong Delta upstream from where the fish farms are located.”

“The FDA only voluntarily inspects less than one percent of total food imports and less than two percent of seafood from foreign plants. This is frightening and unacceptable.”

Unedited copies of both letters are available:

Congressman Leonard Boswell's Letter: In a letter sent last week to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA) voiced his support for USDA inspections for domestic and imported catfish species, as mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill.

Food safety watchdog groups letter: In a letter sent last week to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, three of the nation's largest food safety watchdog groups voiced their support for USDA inspections for domestic and imported catfish species, as mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill.

For more information about the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry and its support of USDA inspections for catfish, visit UScatfish.com.

Catfish Farmers of America
Taylor Webb, 601-206-1600
catfishjournalth@bellsouth.net

Foodfish Inventory Numbers Down 9 Percent from a Year Ago

2009-07-27T10:33:00.003-05:00

Foodfish Inventory Numbers Down 9 Percent from a Year Ago

Catfish operations in the three major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi) had 241 million foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2009, down 9 percent from the July 1, 2008 total of 265 million foodsize fish. The breakouts of foodsize fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2009, with their respective percent change from the previous year were: large foodsize, 6.58 million fish, up 3 percent; medium foodsize, 59.3 million fish, down 16 percent; and small foodsize, 175 million fish, down 7 percent.

The three major States also had 529 thousand broodfish on hand on July 1, 2009, down 19 percent from last year's 655 thousand broodfish.

The number of large stockers on hand on July 1, 2009, totaled 231 million fish, down 21 percent from the 293 million fish on hand a year ago. There were 216 million small stockers, down 25 percent from last year. Producers had 877 million fingerlings and fry on hand on July 1, 2009

Water Acres Down 15 Percent

The water surface area to be used for catfish production during July 1 through December 31, 2009, totaled 112 thousand acres, down 15 percent from a year ago. Acres used for foodsize fish totaled 92.5 thousand acres, down 15 percent from the same time period in 2008. Acres for broodfish decreased 5 percent to 2.41 thousand acres, and acres used for fingerling production decreased 19 percent to 14.5 thousand acres. Acres taken out of production during the January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 period totaled 11.4 thousand acres, while 3.09 thousand acres of the total in production were scheduled to be renovated from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. The number of operations on July 1, 2009 in the three major States totaled 613, down 22 percent from last year's total of 788 operations.

Released July 24, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Production" call Chris Hawthorn at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. Catfish Industry Stands Firm, Maintains Support for USDA Inspections

2009-07-27T10:21:00.002-05:00

July 24, 2009 06:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time

JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Because consumer confidence in safe and healthy seafood is critical, the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry maintains its support for USDA inspections.

U.S. consumers currently believe that their seafood is subject to the same rigorous inspection standards as those imposed on meat and poultry products, but current FDA inspection programs are hardly adequate to handle the nation’s demand for seafood. As a result, the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Industry supports Congress’s recommendation to transfer catfish inspection responsibilities to the USDA and its Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).

“Aquaculture is agriculture, plain and simple; our catfish are grown by farmers, not fisherman,” said Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute. “Because of this, it simply makes sense that our industry be regulated by the appropriate administration.”

Seafood consumption in the United States now exceeds 4.9 billion pounds annually, and of this amount, over 83% are imported. Under current FDA regulations, more than 99% of seafood imports do not undergo inspection. Furthermore, only a fraction of that amount is tested for contamination with illegal drugs and chemicals. Specifically, from May 2008 to May 2009, 14 Vietnamese pangasius (basa/tra/swai) shipments were refused entry by the FDA.

“Catfish farmers want consumers of our product to be protected by the one food safety system that is actually working and instills confidence – USDA inspection,” said Joey Lowery, president of Catfish Farmers of America (CFA).

The meat, eggs and poultry that U.S. consumers eat are all subject to rigorous and continuous inspection by FSIS, regardless of whether they are produced domestically or imported. All production and processing practices are strictly and uniformly regulated, ensuring consumers that what they feed their families is safe and of the highest quality.

According to Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell, who led a delegation of Committee members to Vietnam in December 2008, the water Vietnamese catfish are raised in is “putrid” and unfit for aquaculture. “This stands in stark contrast to the U.S. catfish farms which are subject to rigid environmental and health standards, ensuring a safe, healthy and sustainable product,” said Barlow.

The U.S. catfish industry fully supports fair trade for seafood products, but not at the expense of food safety and the health of the American consumer.

Catfish Farmers of America
Taylor Webb, 601-206-1600
catfishjournalth@bellsouth.net

Videos available here

Arkansas is first to issue funds from the 2008 Aquaculture Grant Program

2009-07-22T14:44:00.002-05:00

Ted McNulty, Director of Aquaculture at the Arkansas Agriculture Department, announced that the federal stimulus funds from the 2008 Aquaculture Grant Program were mailed to Arkansas fish farmers on July 20th. Mr. Robert Araiza and his staff at the Arkansas Forestry Commission are to be commended for getting these checks out in record time. Arkansas is the first State to issue the funds from the 2008 AGP and some states are over a month away from releasing those funds.

Bus Tour of a USA Catfish Farm

2009-07-22T14:33:00.002-05:00

Uncle Cat invite you to take a virtual bus tour of a USA Catfish Farm at:

http://usacatfish.com/bustour/index.shtml

June 2009 Catfish Feed Deliveries Down 21 Percent from Last Year

2009-07-22T13:04:00.003-05:00

Total catfish feed delivered in the United States during June was 96,580 tons, down 21 percent from June 2008, but up 62 percent from the previous month. Foodsize catfish feed delivered totaled 93,389 tons, down 23 percent from the corresponding month a year ago. Feed delivered for fingerlings and broodfish totaled 3,191 tons, up 82 percent from the corresponding month a year ago.

June feed delivered to Mississippi catfish growers for foodsize fish totaled 45,116 tons, down 29 percent from last year. Mississippi accounted for 48 percent of the total foodsize catfish feed delivered to U.S. farmers.

The other major States with catfish feed deliveries for foodsize fish in June and their comparison to the previous year were Alabama with 29,018 tons, down 16 percent; Arkansas with 10,882 tons, down 27 percent; and Louisiana with 1,822 tons, down 8 percent.

Released July 21, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Feed Deliveries" call Charles Butler at 601-965-4575, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT.

Catfish Processing in June Down 9 Percent from Last Year

2009-07-22T12:36:00.005-05:00

Farm-raised catfish processed during June 2009 totaled 39.2 million pounds round weight, down 9 percent from June 2008. The average price paid to producers was 76.3 cents per pound for June 2009, up 0.1 cent from last month but 3.1 cents below a year ago.

Net pounds of processed fish sold during June 2009 totaled 19.0 million pounds, down 12 percent from the comparable month in 2008. The total end of the month inventory increased 2 percent from last month but was down 15 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 6.95 million pounds, were down 14 percent from June 2008 and represented 37 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 12.1 million pounds, were down 10 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 63 percent of
total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 62 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.

The June 2009 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.47 per pound, down 5 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.64 per pound, down 4 cents from June 2008. Prices for fresh fillets were up 14 cents from a year ago at $3.22 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.53 per pound, up 7 cents from June 2008. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 4 cents at $2.19 and frozen fillets at $2.91 per pound were down 1 cent from a year ago.

Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for May 2009 totaled 11.6 million pounds, up 14 percent from the amount imported in May 2008. Imports were from Cambodia, China, Guyana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.66 million pounds, which were from China, Guyana, Mexico, Spain, and Thailand.

Fresh boneless catfish fillet exports totaled 79.1 thousand pounds, with 37.4 thousand pounds going to Canada and the rest going to China, the Turks & Caicos Islands and the United Kingdom. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for May 2009 totaled 14.2 thousand pounds, going to the Bahamas, China-Taipei, Guatemala, Kuwait, the Netherlands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Released July 20, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Processing" call Chris Hawthorn at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

Intent of the catfish industry is consumer safety

2009-07-22T12:20:00.000-05:00

While many accusations have been leveled at the domestic catfish industry and its pursuit of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspections, the intent of the U.S. catfish industry has always been very clear - consumer safety.

U.S. consumers currently believe that their seafood is subject to the same rigorous inspection standards as those imposed on meat and poultry products. However, that is not the case under the existing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, and the domestic catfish industry is dedicated to fighting for increased consumer food safety.

Seafood consumption in the United States now exceeds 4.9 billion pounds annually. Of this amount, over 83% is imported, and less than one percent of our seafood imports ever sees an inspector. Furthermore, only a fraction of that amount is ever tested for contamination from illegal drugs and chemicals.

It is of great concern that inspections by the Canadian government along the U.S. border and testing by the agriculture departments of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi have found dangerous and illegal drugs and chemicals in Asian fish imports that had already been cleared by the FDA. To say that the FDA leaves U.S. consumers vulnerable is an understatement.

The first and foremost responsibility of the elected officials of this country is to ensure the safety and well-being of its citizens. The assurance that the food we eat is safe should be an integral part of that responsibility. Taking action to eliminate any threat to the safety of the American public, including food safety, should be non-negotiable and off-the-table in any political arena.

Let's hope our elected officials do the right thing.

Joey Lowery
President, Catfish Farmers of America
Indianola, Miss.

USDA catfish inspections: Vietnamese fish to be included?

2009-07-15T16:58:00.004-05:00

Last year, the federal Farm Bill included a provision that would authorize the federal government to shift the inspection of “catfish” from the Food and Drug Administration to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The question has been: Will pangasius catfish imported from Vietnam be subject to those new USDA inspections? The decision of Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, is expected soon. However, according to the Associated Press on July 15th, "a draft recommendation being circulated at the agency calls for the Vietnamese fish to be included."

Catfish sales slip; feed costs to blame

2009-07-14T09:35:00.003-05:00

By Matt Harris
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Pages 21, 26 on 07/14/2009
(Read the full article here)

LITTLE ROCK — Sales by U.S. catfish farmers are down 13.5 percent through the first five months of 2009, according the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

[...]

The decrease is not unexpected. High feed prices, driven by higher soybean and corn costs, continue to force producers to cut back, said Carol Engle, director of Aquaculture/Fisheries Center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“They’re trying everything they can,” she said of the strategies used by farmers.

[...]

Engle said that feed prices began declining in March, granting farmers a reprieve from prices that were up to $425 a ton in 2008. But the price of soybean meal rose, pushing feed prices above $400 a ton again.

“It’s just going through the roof,” Engle said.

By backing off on stocking, farmers reduce the amount of feed they use without risking under-feeding. It also means farmers aerate ponds less often, keeping energy costs down.

“If the fish are closer to market size, you can back off on feeding and you won't lose growth,” Engle said. “With smaller fish,you really need to be feeding them every day.”

Farmers await the arrival of $7.8 million in federal funds that were doled out as part of economic stimulus package.

Ted McNulty, director of aquaculture for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, said checks to 121 producers worth $7.1 million should be in the mail by the end of the week, with the expected approval by Gov. Mike Beebe’s office.

The department will continue to accept applications for the remaining money from producers until July 31, McNulty said.

[...]

The arrival of those checks is critical, Engle said.

“The sooner that happens, the sooner farmers will start feeding” at normal levels, meaning a potential increase in production, she said.

There is also hope that a federal inspection program, which will require foreign countries to demonstrate that their inspection systems are equivalent to the U.S. process, could curb the amount of imported fish that are sometimes grown using chemicals and heavily subsidized.

Engle said that if the program is in place by year’s end, it could level the playing field for domestic catfish producers.

[...]

Smartphones sprout on farms

2009-07-08T10:54:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to a cool article published by CNN on the use of smartphones and social networking media by farmers. I would be curious to know how popular the use of smartphones and social networking media are among catfish farmers. Any thoughts on that and how it could be use to benefit fish farmers?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/02/twitter.farmer/index.html

TRUSTEES REVIEW PLANS FOR UAPB’S DOCTORAL FISHERIES PROGRAM

2009-06-27T06:18:00.002-05:00

By Wes Clement/OF THE PINE BLUFF COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, June 26, 2009 11:26 PM CDT

(Full article here)

An aquaculture/fisheries doctoral program proposed by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff gained the respect of professionals charged with critically reviewing the program.

“They will be an incredibly competitive program,” said Bobby McGhee, dean of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Graduate School. “They’ll be able to select from the best.

“If they gave Nobel Prizes for aquaculture, there would be four or five on this campus. The faculty is stellar when stacked against any school in the nation.”

McGhee has reviewed more than 100 proposed Ph.D. programs and he has been involved in launching six doctoral programs. He said UAPB’s proposed program is the most exciting one he has known.

The aquaculture department has been working for about 10 years to build a Ph.D. faculty and upgrade facilities in preparation for the program.

“This will not be a token partnership,” McGhee said. “We are fully on board.”

He said UAMS would give fisheries students opportunities to work in facilities such as a microbiology laboratory to learn from the expertise of a wider variety of Ph.D.s in practice.

[...]

(Full article here)

National Catfish Day

2009-06-25T08:24:00.002-05:00

Did you know that President Reagan issued a Presidential Proclamation in 1987 that issued today June 25th as National Catfish Day? Today, we celebrate catfish and its growing popularity in America. This delectable fish can be prepared in numerous ways, so don't go through the day without at least trying a sample!

U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a lean fish and an excellent source of protein. It is low in saturated (bad) fat and is a moderate source of polyunsaturated (good) fat and omega-3 fatty acids.

Ninety-four percent of all U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is raised in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, in freshwater ponds filled with clean and clear well water. The National Audubon Society, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Environmental Defense all recommend U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish as a safe environmental choice.

Catfish Processing Down 10 Percent from Last Year

2009-06-18T15:52:00.008-05:00

Farm-raised catfish processed during May 2009 totaled 39.9 million pounds round weight, down 10 percent from May 2008. The average price paid to producers was 76.2 cents per pound for May 2009, down 0.1 cent from last month and 1.4 cents below a year ago.

Net pounds of processed fish sold during May 2009 totaled 18.8 million pounds, down 11 percent from the comparable month in 2008. The total end of the month inventory decreased 1 percent from last month and was down 11 percent from a year ago. Sales of fresh fish, at 7.17 million pounds, were down 6 percent from May 2008 and represented 38 percent of total sales. Frozen fish sales, at 11.7 million pounds, were down 14 percent from a year ago and accounted for the remaining 62 percent of
total fish sales. Sales of whole fish represented 17 percent of the total fish sold, fillets accounted for 62 percent, and the remaining 21 percent were mostly steaks, nuggets, and value added products.

The May 2009 average price received by processors for total fresh fish was $2.51 per pound, up 12 cents from last year. Prices for fresh whole fish were $1.70 per pound, up 10 cents from May 2008. Prices for fresh fillets were up 13 cents from a year ago at $3.23 per pound. Total frozen fish averaged $2.57 per pound, up 12 cents from May 2008. Prices for frozen whole dressed fish were up 7 cents at $2.23 and frozen fillets at $2.98 per pound were up 10 cents from a year ago.

Freshwater imports for consumption of Ictalurus spp., Pangasius spp., and other catfish of the order Siluriformes for April 2009 totaled 8.55 million pounds, down 19 percent from the amount imported in April 2008. Imports were from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Ictalurus spp. imports totaled 1.36 million pounds, which were from China, Mexico, and Thailand.

Fresh boneless catfish fillet exports for April 2009 totaled 47.5 thousand pounds, with all going to Canada. Exports of frozen, boneless catfish fillets reported for April 2009 totaled 12.8 thousand pounds going to Kuwait and the Netherlands.

Import and export data are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Stimulus Money Coming to Arkansas Fish Farmers

2009-06-15T23:34:00.001-05:00

KATV 7 News
posted 06/15/09 9:52 pm

Little Rock, AR - Stimulus money is on the way to Arkansas fish farmers. Fifty million dollars was just approved nationally for aquaculture farmers. Arkansas will see about 7 million of that and some farmers say it will keep their business afloat.
Thousands of Arkansas's acres are home to goldfish, catfish, and hybrid striped bass breeders. After more than a year of their feed costs spiking, they see any help as relief. Swimming upstream is how some local fish farmers felt in Keo when their feed costs ballooned in 2007. Prices increased from $800 per ton to $1,200.

(Mike Freeze, Co-Owner Keo Fish Farm) “Your aquaculture farmers are a big part of the Arkansas agriculture.”

With $7 million from the stimulus package being split among all the fish farmers, Mike Freeze isn’t sure how much he'll see, but he's says it will be put to use.

(Freeze) “For every dollar that a fish farmer spends it has 7 times that impact on the local economy.”

The plans for his portion will go toward feed to keep from drowning in the current economy.

(Freeze) “I honestly feel like I'm getting back some of my tax dollars that I pay.”

He says he plans to get his paper work in by Monday and the government will be cutting checks for the farmers next week.

Aquaculture industry gets USD 50 mln for fish feed

2009-06-15T23:05:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 01:40 (GMT + 9)

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
Click here for the original article.

A federal stimulus package going to the struggling aquaculture industry will include USD 50 million to be used on fish feed. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will distribute it in the form of grants through state agriculture departments based on amounts of feed utilised in 2007.

Feed increased in cost by over 50 per cent last year, aggravating the difficulties suffered by the national aquaculture industry caused by foreign competition. Supporters believe the stimulus package will be able to sustain fish farms and preserve jobs in the areas most affected by the economic recession and other factors, reports The Associated Press.

It was producers in Arkansas and the South who pressed the most for the package through US Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, who is particularly worried about the catfish industry. According to the USDA, in 2007 the aquaculture industry was worth USD 1.4 billion, one-third due to catfish sales from Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.

Mike Freeze, vice president of the Pine Bluff, Arkansas-based National Aquaculture Association said that a considerable amount of fish farmers are located in poor regions and have been hit with both higher feed prices and higher electricity costs in addition to foreign competition.

The fish feed purchased with the stimulus package could stretch from the South through the Pacific coast, feeding everything form shellfish to catfish, tilapia and trout.

Fish feed for commercial fish includes corn, wheat, soybeans and fishmeal as the main ingredients. It is the increases in prices of corn in particular that drove the prices of fish feed to rise.

It is processors, who have not increased pay, who hold the power to set prices. While farmers producing baitfish have been able to up their prices in accord with those of fish feed, farmers raising fish for human consumption are stuck.

"Our catfish farmers have been taking it on the chin the last couple of years," said Freeze.

Meanwhile, non-fish farmers in similar situations want to know why they are not receiving any financial aid.

"I don't begrudge the aquaculture because someone was able to get aquaculture funding," said Missouri Agriculture Director Jon Hagler.

"I think that's fantastic, and we're going to take advantage of it because if we don't we lose it. But in terms of the other industries, I just wish there was more available for them."

International trade panel upholds order against certain Vietnamese fish

2009-06-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

By Associated Press
4:45 PM CDT, June 15, 2009

WASHINGTON, Ala. (AP) — The U.S. International Trade Commission has upheld an order against dumping of certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam, a move described by an Alabama congressman as a victory for catfish farmers.

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Birmingham said it is important that farmers have an opportunity to compete with foreign producers on a level playing field.

The commission voted unanimously Monday to continue the trade protections. In May, Davis led a bipartisan coalition in support of the antidupming rules.

Mississippi and Alabama are the country's top catfish producers.

Mississippi catfish farmers say Vietnam is sinking their business

2009-06-15T22:35:00.002-05:00

Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2009
By Richard Fausset and Richard Simon

The millions of pounds of Vietnamese fish imported to the U.S. each year are not classified as 'catfish' and may not be subject to the same inspection regulations that will soon apply to the American

Reporting from Belzoni, Miss., and Washington -- In Vietnam there's a kind of fish that's white-fleshed and whiskered and otherwise pretty darn catfish-like. But in the eyes of the U.S. government, the creatures aren't catfish.

Now fish farmers in the American South fear this government classification will allow the Vietnamese fish to slither around inspection regulations that will soon apply to American catfish.

Click here for the full story

USDA approved Arkansas work plan for the Aquaculture Grant Program Recovery Act

2009-06-15T00:02:00.002-05:00

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) approved Arkansas work plan for the Aquaculture Grant Program Recovery Act. FSA said that Arkansas plan is a great example of what FSA is looking for in a work plan for a State that chooses to implement the program via cash to producers. Click here to download the complete work plan, which contain all the information, guidelines, and application forms. REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS June 22,2009. Since the Arkansas plan was the first to be approved, fish farmers may be able to receive their stimulus check by the end of June.

P.S. If you intend to apply for more than one entity and get more than the $100,000 limit then you should check with your local FSA office and get approval.

May 2009 Arkansas Farm Bureau Update video on Aquaculture Challenges

2009-06-09T10:24:00.003-05:00

The May 2009 edition of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Update Video addresses the difficulties that Arkansas fish farmers are facing with unprofitable feed costs and competition from imports.

This video followed a previous one that was produced in October 2008 on "Foreign competition and higher feed costs are making it difficult for Arkansas catfish farmers to stay in business".

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act Stimulus Funds

2009-06-08T15:45:00.002-05:00

This letter is to announce the release of funds by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assist aquaculture producers for losses associated with high feed input costs during the 2008 calendar year. The Arkansas Agriculture Department expects to receive $7,815,885.00 and is working diligently to release these funds as expeditiously as possible.

Meetings are being scheduled to explain the guidelines of the program and to assist the farmers in the application process. It is imperative that all applications are received by the Arkansas Agriculture Department by Monday, June 22, 2009. Therefore, we recommend that you take the time to attend one of the three meetings. If you absolutely can not attend any of the scheduled meetings, we will make the application and guidelines available to the general public, as soon as possible, on the Arkansas Agriculture Department, Aquaculture Division website. This site can be accessed at www.aad.ar.gov/aquaculture. The link to the application and guidelines can be accessed on the home page through the link entitled 2008 AGP.

In an effort to expedite the application process, below is a list of documentation that will be required to be eligible for the 2008 Aquaculture Grant Program (AGP).

1. W-9
2. 2008 Feed Tonnage Report
3. Certification letter from the feed mill certifying tons purchased in 2008 and the average feed price paid by the aquaculture producer in the 2008 calendar year.
4. Producers that are NOT individuals will be required to establish a DUNS number or update an existing DUNS number. This can be done at www.dnb.com.
5. Producers that are NOT individuals are also required to register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database or update and existing registration with CCR www.ccr.gov.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

Monday, June 15, 2009 – 10:00 a.m.
Lonoke Agriculture Center
2100 Highway 70 East
Lonoke, AR 72086

Tuesday, June 16, 2008 – 9:30 a.m.
Guachoya Cultural Arts Center
UAPB Lake Village Diagnostic Lab
1652 C Highway 62/85 South
Lake Village, AR

Thursday, June 18, 2009 – 10:30 a.m.
Craighead County Extension Building
611 East Washington Ave., Suite. A
Jonesboro, AR 72401

Renovated UAPB Fish Diagnostic Laboratory Opens in Lake Village

2009-06-03T09:16:00.001-05:00

Cutting the ribbon for the relocated and newly-renovated UAPB Fish Disease Diagnostic Lab in Lake Village are left to right: UAPB Aquaculture Specialist; Larry Dorman, state Director of Aquaculture Ted McNulty; Rep. Robert Moore, District 12; Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, District 24; UAPB Chancellor Dr. Lawrence A. Davis, Jr.; Rep. Gregg Reep, District 8; Jerry Williamson, Lake Village City Council member and fish farmer; Wayne Branton, president of Catfish Farmers of Arkansas and fish farmer; Floy Bostick, Chicot County Quorum Court; Chicot County Judge Mack Ball, Jr. and Gene Higginbotham, aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Ross

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) Fish Disease Diagnostic Lab in Lake Village is a valuable resource for area fish farmers, UAPB Chancellor Dr. Lawrence A. Davis, Jr. said. Dr. Davis recently joined state and local officials in ceremoniously cutting a ribbon to open the lab in a newly renovated building near its former location. The new lab, which is part of UAPB's Aquaculture/Fisheries Center, is the result of collaboration with the city of Lake Village, the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The city provided the facility, the state and USDA provided funds to remodel the space and UAPB is providing skilled fish health experts, utility costs, supplies and equipment. Located at 1652C Highway 65 in Lake Village, the new lab serves fish producers and recreational pond owners by providing fish disease diagnosis, fish health inspections, water testing and more.

Read full articles in:

Pine Bluff Commercial - Pine Bluff, AR, Friday, May 22, 2009

FOX 16, Friday, May 22, 2009

ArkansasBusiness.com, Friday, May 22, 2009

Ashley County Ledger - Hamburg, AR, Tuesday, June 02, 2009

2008 U.S. Catfish Database by Dr. Terry Hanson and David Sites

2009-06-03T08:31:00.002-05:00

The 2008 U.S. Catfish Database by Dr. Terry Hanson and David Sites is a collection of data concerning the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry. Information in this database came from many sources. However, the bulk of information came from the USDA NASS and ERS agencies. This publication represents a long history of data on catfish production, processing, and feed price information in one comprehensive document.

The 2008 Catfish Database can be found on-line at:

http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/aquaculture/catfish-database/catfish-2008.php

OR at:

http://www.agecon.msstate.edu/research/catfish2008db.php

Thanks to Terry Hanson of Auburn University for sharing this information.

Update on the Aquaculture Feed Stimulus (Recovery Act – 2008 Aquaculture Grant Program)

2009-06-01T10:14:00.002-05:00

The Recovery Act authorizes $50 million of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for grants to states that agree to provide assistance to eligible aquaculture producers for losses associated with high feed input costs during the 2008 calendar year.

We still do not know how long it will take for the money to get to fish producers. The latest time line is as follows:

1. A press release from USDA on Tues.June 2.
2.Agreements will be mailed to State Department of Agriculture on June 2
3.Agreements must be signed and returned to USDA.
4.States must submit applications,guidelines and work plan to USDA for approval.
5.After approval USDA will sent the money to the states.
6.The State must advertise the grant program and sign up all eligible aquaculture producers in the state.
7.Depending on how the program is designed,the state will have to notify the producers and the feed mills how much in feed credits the producers will receive or send a check to the producer for that amount.

Evaluation of a Barrier Confinement System for Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Production

2009-06-01T08:31:00.002-05:00

from Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, Volume 40 Issue 3, Pages 402 - 409
by Neil J Pugliese, David Heikes, Carole R Engle

An in-pond confinement system to separate channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, by size within a single pond provides an opportunity for improved growth of understocked fish in ponds with larger market-sized fish. A barrier of polyvinyl chloride[ndash]coated galvanized wire mesh was constructed in five 0.10-ha earthen ponds to partition the pond into one-third and two-third sections, while five other 0.10-ha ponds were left as traditional open ponds for a control. To evaluate catfish performance in this confinement system, fingerlings (25 g) were stocked at 14,820/ha into the smaller one-third section of the barrier and carryover fish (408 g) at 2580 kg/ha into the larger two-third section of the barrier. The control ponds were stocked with the same sizes and numbers of fish in a traditional earthen pond without a barrier. Yield, survival, feed conversion ratio (FCR), growth, and economics were compared between treatments. Fingerling yields were greater in the barrier system that allowed fingerlings to be separated physically from larger carryover fish. There were no differences in yield of carryover fish, survival, FCR, or growth between the control and the barrier ponds. Partial budget analysis revealed a positive net change of $367/ha or $38,125 for a 104-ha catfish farm (at a market price of $1.54/kg of additional stockers produced). The value of the greater weight of understocked fish produced in the barrier system was greater than the annualized cost of installing the barrier, for farmers raising fish in multiple batch. Thus, on an experimental basis, the confinement system was economically profitable; however, trials on commercial farms are needed to evaluate performance on a larger scale.

The You Docs prescribe Catfish: Drs. Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen cite U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish as a good choice

2009-05-30T19:42:00.000-05:00

The Catfish Institute / Canada » Blog Archive » The You Docs ...
NEW YORK (May 29, 2009)—The You Docs, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen of Oprah Winfrey fame, recommended U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to their readers on a post to their website Tuesday. The You Docs website offers medical and health advice and Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen are read in newspapers across Canada and the U.S. The You Docs posted the following response in The Truth About Good-for-You Foods section of the site.

Evaluation of Various Feeding Regimens in a Multiple-Batch Cropping System of Channel Catfish Production

2009-05-29T12:35:00.000-05:00

from North American Journal of Aquaculture: May 22, 2009 9:31 AM

The Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide on the Hatch Rate and Saprolegniaspp. Infestation of Channel Catfish Eggs

2009-05-29T12:34:00.000-05:00

from North American Journal of Aquaculture: May 22, 2009 9:31 AM

Evaluation of oregano essential oil (Origanum heracleoticum L.) on growth, antioxidant effect and resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

2009-05-29T12:33:00.000-05:00

from Aquaculture - May 4, 2009 4:38 PM

Effects of dried algae Schizochytrium sp., a rich source of docosahexaenoic acid, on growth, fatty acid composition, and sensory quality of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus

2009-05-29T12:32:00.000-05:00

from Aquaculture - May 4, 2009 4:38 PM

The Effect of Dietary Protein Level on Channel Catfish Production Characteristics when Feeding on Alternate Days in Multiple-Batch Production

2009-05-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

from North American Journal of Aquaculture: Apr 27, 2009 6:02 PM

Age at puberty of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, controlled by thermoperiod

2009-05-29T12:30:00.000-05:00

from Aquaculture - Apr 25, 2009 4:24 PM

Growth Response and Resistance to Edwardsiella ictaluri of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Fed Diets Containing Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles

2009-05-29T12:29:00.001-05:00

from Journal of the World Aquaculture Society - Apr 20, 2009 7:09 AM

Effect of Using Threadfin Shad as Forage for Channel Catfish Fed Daily or Every Third Day

2009-05-29T12:27:00.000-05:00

from North American Journal of Aquaculture: Apr 9, 2009 12:50 PM

Catfish Farmers of America Board of Directors

2009-05-27T15:15:00.002-05:00

Congratulation to Arkansas catfish producers that were elected to serve on the Catfish Farmers of America Board of Directors. They are Bari Cain, Joey Lowery, Rusty Moss, Bob Hopper, Wayne Branton, and John Farmer. Cain and Lowery are members of the Executive Committee.

President of Catfish Farmers of America

2009-05-27T15:10:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Joey Lowery, a catfish producer from Newport (Arkansas), for being elected President of Catfish Farmers of America.

Arkansas Catfish Farmer of the Year 2009

2009-05-27T14:55:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to Dennington Moss, a catfish producer from Lake Village, for being named Arkansas Catfish Farmer of the Year 2009 at the recent Catfish Farmers of America Annual Convention held at the Eola Hotel, Natchez, Mississippi, March 5-7.

Catfish Channel Vol. 49, May 2009

2009-05-27T14:36:00.006-05:00

Here are some of the headlines from our last edition of the Catfish Channel newsletter of the Catfish Farmers of Arkansas.

Karmex and Direx 4L: The Spring Diuron Update
2009 Catfish Farmers of America Convention Highlights
Lake Village Catfish Farmer Meeting
U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln Visit Lake Village
Chi Alpha Catfish Fry at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Catfish Farmers of Arkansas Sponsors Washington, D.C. Event
Condolescences
UAPB Advisory Council Meeting
Upcoming Events 2009