Barry Moore introduces legislation to help farm-raised fish producers
On Tuesday, Congressman Barry Moore introduced the Bringing Aquaculture Indemnities to Speed (BAITS) Act. This legislation would help farm-raised fish producers who suffer considerable loss without triggering a disaster payment have options to recoup some of their assets. Moore believes this legislation will help grow America’s aquaculture sector. “Farm-raised fish operations put affordable, healthy protein options on the table in the state of Alabama and across America,” said Moore. “Providing these operations with more risk management options will help current producers thrive, but also encourage industry growth by enticing more producers to get involved in aquaculture.” The BAITS Act would allow fish farmers to protect themselves and their operations from unavoidable loss. Farm-raised fish producers suffer considerable death loss without triggering a disaster payment and should have options to recoup their assets without experiencing total, disastrous loss. Farm-raised producers cite uninsured death loss via avian depredation as a significant driver of profit and stock loss. As U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programming exists now, farm-raised fish producers do not have sufficient programmatic support to manage this risk. Currently, the United States ranks eighth in the world for aquatic commodity production, most of which comes from the south. Alabama is sixth in the nation in terms of the total value of aquaculture products sold. Alabama produces $99,000,000 a year in aquaculture products from just 120 farms with a combined 17,591 acres of water. Most of AlAlabama’sish and mollusk production is from freshwater farms. Alabama trails only California, Virginia, Louisiana, Washington, and Mississippi. In Mississippi, the nation’s largest aquaculture producer, 176 fish farmers with a combined 39,561 acres of water produce $215,790,000 worth of aquaculture products for consumers. Wild-caught fish is increasingly incapable of meeting the global demand for seafood. Thus, more and more of the seafood we consume comes from fish farmers – both freshwater and saltwater. Aquaculture products include food fish, sport fish, baitfish, and ornamental fish, as well as mollusks, crustaceans, and other miscellaneous aquaculture products. Most of AlAlabama’squaculture is in the form of catfish. In 2020, the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry produced 324 million pounds of catfish from 59,305 acres of water. Alabama produced 94 million pounds of catfish in 2020 from 16,146 acres of water, which represents 33 percent of all catfish produced in the United States. Still, total Alabama catfish production has steadily declined since peaking in 2004. This decline is due to several factors, including foreign competition, aging farmers, and rising grain prices, but risk management is a significant part of that equation. MoMoore’segislation seeks to grow this industry and produce America-raised affordable protein for American consumers by providing U.S. farm-raised fish producers with the same risk management mechanisms mainstream commodities enjoy. Moore says that amendments to existing USDA programs are in order. The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) is a USDA Farm Service Agency disaster assistance program designed to protect livestock producers from losses due to an eligible adverse weather event, disease, or attack in excess of normal mortality. The focus of this legislation revolves around the latter loss conditions: eligible disease and attack scenarios. Eligible disease claims can be filed if livestock contracts a disease transmitted by vectors where vaccination or acceptable management practices are not available in excess of normal mortality rates. Usually, migratory predatory birds, most of which are protected by federal law, are often responsible for these losses. Eligible attack claims can be filed if livestock is attacked in excess of normal mortality by animals reintroduced by the Federal government or federally protected. Avian predators are specifically included in this programming. MoMoore’segislation would add farm-raised fish as an eligible species under LIP, giving fish farmers the ability to protect themselves against eligible loss conditions via disease transmission and avian depredation. Moore is serving in his second term representing the people of Alabama’s Second Congressional District. Moore previously served from 2010 to 2018 in the Alabama House of Representatives. He and his family live in Enterprise. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Alabama receives $100K Farm to School grant to buy more local produce
Alabama students will be seeing more locally grown produce on the school menus next school year thanks to a newly awarded $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Designed to increase the availability of local foods in schools, USDA Farm to School grants can help farm to school programs get started or expand existing efforts. “Increasing the amount of local foods in America’s schools is a win-win for everyone,” said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. “Our children benefit from the fresh, local food served in their meals at school, and local economies are nourished, as well, when schools buy the food they provide close to home.” The state’s Farm to School Cooperative — a coalition of state and community partners including the Alabama Department of Education, the Foodbank of North Alabama/Farm Food Collaborative, the Alabama Farmers Federation, Feeding the Gulf-Coast Food Bank, food hubs, Druid City Garden Project, and EAT South — was one of 65 projects recipients from across the country of the USDA’s 2017 Farm to School Grant. The co-op encourages schools to serve fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables to students, implement hands-on education in school gardens, and provide nutrition and agriculture education. Specifically, the state will use grant funds to assist farmers with GAP certification, revise the Alabama farm to school website, develop a state-wide promotional campaign, and support school garden curriculum development. The Tuscaloosa-based Druid City Garden Project, part of the coalition, will utilize funds to facilitate building mobile cooking units for schools to engage students in cooking demonstrations with produce grown in school gardens. “The Alabama Farm to School Collaborative provides farmers an opportunity to develop relationships with the students in their local schools districts,” commented Alabama Agriculture Commissioner John McMillan. “Not only do the students enjoy locally grown food, but now they can make a connection to the person who grew it for them.”
Robert Aderholt applauds new trade emphasis in USDA reorganization
The Trump Administration is rolling out an extensive reorganization of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the first since 1994, that will streamline the department, create a new undersecretary position, and place new emphasis on trade and its important within the global economy. Recently confirmed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue made the announcement Thursday. “Our plan to establish an undersecretary for trade fits right in line with my goal to be American agriculture’s unapologetic advocate and chief salesman around the world. By working side by side with our U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the USDA undersecretary for trade will ensure that American producers are well equipped to sell their products and feed the world,” Perdue said in a press release. Alabama 4th District U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt, Chairman of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, applauded the USDA’s announcement. “America’s strength lay not just in our ability to protect our allies but also to feed them. I have long said that Americas strength might lay not just in our military capabilities but in the fact that we have one of the strongest agricultural economies in the world,” Aderholt said in a statement. “Realizing the strength of our farmers comes through trade. Quite frankly, our farmers and ranchers can compete with any country in the world if we are given a level playing field. An Under Secretary of Trade whose whole mission is to ensure that we have open markets, to provide proteins, and produce, will only make our rural economy that much stronger.” The creation of the undersecretary position was mandated in the 2014 Farm Bill, but ignored by the Obama Administration. Aderholt says he’s encouraged by the Trump Administration’s decision to make the position a reality. “I am encouraged that one of Secretary Perdue’s first acts is to establish this new Under Secretary,” Aderholt added. “This position will raise the profile of the American economy’s agricultural sector and focus on promoting American goods overseas.” The USDA reorganization will also elevate the Rural Development agencies to report directly to the secretary of agriculture in recognition of the need to help promote rural prosperity. “The economic health of small towns across America is crucial to the future of the agriculture economy. It is my commitment to always argue for the needs of rural America, which is why we are elevating Rural Development within USDA,” said Perdue. “No doubt, the opportunity we have here at the USDA in rural development is unmatched.” Watch Perdue’s announcement below:
Ag. Sec. Tom Vilsack takes job with dairy industry after leaving USDA
Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is taking a job at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The group is a nonprofit that promotes dairy products. An announcement Tuesday said Vilsack will help “develop a long-term vision for building sales and consumer trust in U.S. dairy.” Vilsack is entering the private sector after decades in public service. Before he was appointed agriculture secretary in 2009, he was Iowa’s governor for eight years. He also served in the Iowa state senate and as mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. He was also on Democrat Hillary Clinton‘s vice presidential short list. She chose Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine instead. Vilsack was President Barack Obama‘s longest-serving Cabinet secretary. He left that position Friday, a week before Donald Trump takes office. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Parents, save up: Cost of raising a child is more than $233K
Expecting a baby? Congratulations! Better put plenty of money in your savings account. The Department of Agriculture says the estimated cost of raising a child from birth through age 17 is $233,610, or as much as almost $14,000 annually. That’s the average for a middle-income couple with two children. It’s a bit more expensive in urban parts of the country, and less so in rural areas. The estimate released Monday is based on 2015 numbers, so a baby born this year is likely to cost even more. It’s a 3 percent increase from the prior year, a hike higher than inflation. Since 1960, USDA has compiled the annual report to inform – and probably terrify – budget-preparing parents. State governments and courts also use the information to write child support and foster care guidelines. The main costs include housing, food, transportation, health care, education, clothing and other miscellaneous expenses. Things to know about how much it costs to raise a child: HOUSING IS EXPENSIVE Up to a third of the total cost is housing, accounting for 26 to 33 percent of the total expense of raising a child. USDA comes up with those numbers by calculating the average cost of an additional bedroom – an approach the department says is probably conservative, because it doesn’t account for those families who pay more to live in communities that have better schools or other amenities for children. — URBAN VS. RURAL DIFFERENCES The cost of raising a child varies in different regions of the country. Overall, middle-income, married-couple families in the urban Northeast spent the most ($253,770), followed by those in the urban West ($235,140) and urban South ($221,730). Those in the urban Midwest spent less ($217,020), along with those in rural areas ($193,020). USDA estimates the annual housing cost per child in urban areas is $3,900, while it’s $2,400 in rural areas. There were also differences depending on income. Lower-income families are expected to spend around $174,690 per child from birth through 17; higher-income families will spend a whopping $372,210. The average middle-income family earns between $59,200 and $107,400 before taxes. — CHILD CARE COSTS HAVE RISEN After housing, child care, education and food are the highest costs for families. For a middle-income couple with two children, food costs make up about 18 percent of the cost of raising a child. Child care and education costs make up 16 percent. Education costs have sharply risen since 1960, when USDA estimated that those expenses were around 2 percent of child-rearing expenses. The report says this growth is likely due to the increased number of women in the workforce, prompting the need for more child care. The numbers don’t even include the annual cost of college, which the government estimates is $45,370 for a private college and $20,090 for a public college. — OLDER KIDS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE New parents may flinch at the costs of diapers and baby gear, but it’s going to get worse. While a child costs around $12,680 when he or she is between 0 and 2, a teenager between 15 and 17 costs around $13,900 annually. USDA says food, transportation, clothing and health care expenses all grow as a child ages. Transportation costs are highest for the oldest children, perhaps because they start driving, and child care and education costs are highest for six and under. — MORE KIDS, LOWER COSTS There is some good news for big families. Families with three or more children spend an average of 24 percent less per child. USDA says that’s because children often share bedrooms in bigger families, clothing and toys are handed down and food can be purchased in larger and more economical packages. Also, private schools and child care providers may offer sibling discounts. In contrast, one-child households spend an average of 27 percent more on the single child. Republish with permission of The Associated Press.
