Mississippi Business Journal » AGRICULTURE – Market Sector

Undersecretary: ‘I understand the frustration’ over catfish inspections

Associated Press — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:03:55 +0000

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) has received word that the U.S. Department of Agriculture could complete a final rule for implementing a catfish inspection program by this October, Cochran reports in a release. Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA undersecretary for food safety, today told Cochran the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is committed [...]

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Federation president praises lawmakers for Farm Bill effort

MBJ Staff — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:44:54 +0000

JACKSON — The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) leadership is commending U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss) and his staff for their diligent work to reach a solid compromise on a Senate Farm Bill package. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry passed a piece of farm legislation that garnered a 15-5 vote. [...]

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Port lets dredging contract, clearing way for wood pellets

Associated Press — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:22:24 +0000

PASCAGOULA — Port of Pascagoula commissioners have approved a $1.5-million dredging project to prepare a Bayou Casotte berth for a specialized wood pellet exporting facility. The board awarded the $1.47 million contract to C. F. Bean, LLC for the dredging, testing, transporting and disposing of about 45,000 cubic yards of silts around Terminals E and [...]

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Plywood mill coming, bringing 200-plus jobs

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:02:18 +0000

LOUISVILLE — Natron Wood Products will locate a plywood mill in Louisville, creating more than 200 new jobs. Natron Wood Products owner Richard McDougal says the operations will be located in a 265,000-square-foot existing facility and represent a company investment of $10 million. The plant’s plywood overlay panels are used primarily in large vertical and [...]

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Catfish farmers challenged by markets lost to imports

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:40:41 +0000

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Catfish farmers continue to address production challenges as the industry works to reclaim markets lost to imported fish. Jeremy Robbins, vice president of The Catfish Institute based in Jackson, said farmers have struggled in recent years with high feed prices, their No. 1 expense, while dealing with increased competition from imports. “There [...]

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Senator: Is federal bioenergy program undercutting foresters?

MBJ Staff — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:30:33 +0000

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is questioning whether a U.S. Department of Agriculture bio-based marketing program amounts to a bias against traditional forest products and whether such policies are fair. Cochran broached the topic at a Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to review the FY2014 budget request for the USDA. The USDA BioPreferred [...]

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La. company recalling thousands of pounds of stew

Associated Press — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:29:15 +0000

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Acadian Fine Foods LLC of Church Point, La., is recalling 17,000 pounds of pork and chicken stews because labels don’t list whey and soy as ingredients. Some people are allergic to those substances. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall Friday. The agency says the single-serving [...]

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Rain, cold cause crop plantings to lag far behind

Ted Carter — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:23:27 +0000

Weather weirdness has become the new normal for Mississippi farmers this spring as they watch for forecasts of warm, dry days they would routinely expect in most years. Even before temperatures in the low 40s or even lower combined with the near daily rainfall, planting averages were falling far below last year’s levels and levels [...]

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Port of Pascagoula’s wood pellet facility gets final funding piece

Clay Chandler — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:05:29 +0000

The Port of Pascagoula has gotten the last funding piece in place for its wood pellet facility. The $196 million bond bill approved during the legislative session that ended in April includes $10 million that will round out the money needed for the $30 million project. The facility will be built along two terminals on [...]

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Senator presses ag secretary again on fish inspections

MBJ Staff — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:23:20 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) has once again pressed the U.S. secretary of agriculture to explain why a catfish inspection program authorized five years ago has not been implemented. Cochran, who has been fighting to ensure a fair and level playing field for U.S. catfish producers, raised the issue again with Agriculture [...]

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