by MBJ Staff Published: March 30,2012
Tags: agriculture, appropriations, aquaculture, bill, budget, catfish, diplomacy, federal agency, federal government, fish, food, food safety, funding, imports, inspections, international trade, law, lawmakers, legislation, legislative, Politics, Senator
WASHINGTON — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) yesterday again stressed to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack the importance to U.S. food safety and the economy of implementing a program to more thoroughly inspect imported catfish. Cochran addressed the issue at Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the FY2013 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). [...] [...]

by Wally Northway Published: January 2,2012
Tags: agricultural commodities, agriculture, catfish, cattle, corn, cotton, eggs, forestry, hay, Mississippi agriculture, Mississippi State University Extension Service, new value record, new value record year in 2011, poultry, rice, soybeans
Despite a challenging year of bad weather and a faltering economy, Mississippi agriculture set a new value record year in 2011, according to a report form the Mississippi State University Extension Service. However, spiraling input costs as well as financial woes at home and abroad and an angry Mother Nature put a squeeze on farmers’ [...] [...]
by MBJ Staff Published: December 18,2011
Tags: agriculture, aquaculture, catfish, Jimmy Avery, Mississippi State Extension Service, Mississippi State University, MSU, STARKVILLE, Stoneville, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Vietnam catfish
Mississippi State University has recognized Extension professor Jimmy Avery with a Spirit of Excellence Award. As Mississippi’s only Extension catfish specialist, Avery has spent the last several years working to revitalize an industry in which Mississippi excels. That leading position has been hit hard recently due to foreign imports and falling prices. He coordinated efforts [...] [...]
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Catfish producers who are coping with record-high feed costs know that the strong market prices may not last much longer. Jimmy Avery, aquaculture leader with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said years of pond acreage reductions are driving fish prices up. Unfortunately, the cost of producers’ biggest expense, feed, is also [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — Public comments and evidence submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture overwhelmingly support broad inspection and regulation of all commercial catfish species imported or grown for sale to consumers in the United States, according to the USDA website. Of the 280 comments posted on the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) official [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture officials need to develop recommendations to help livestock producers in Mississippi, especially poultry farmers, reverse declining markets. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee that conducted a hearing on the “State of Livestock in America.” Cochran used the hearing to highlight [...] [...]
As the historic crest of the Mississippi River rolled past the Delta last month, the catfish industry started breathing a little easier. If the Yazoo Backwater Levee had failed, practically the entire catfish industry in Mississippi would have been underwater, and after a decade of struggles, could have meant the industry’s death. Even if the [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — As part of a public comment hearing on the definition of catfish and related fish types, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today argued in favor of a broad federal definition to help guarantee that American consumers are being served safe fish. Cochran, who sponsored the 2008 Farm Bill requirement on imported catfish inspections, today [...] [...]
WASHINGTON and STONEVILLE — The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will hear public comments tomorrow in Washington, D.C., on the proposed regulations for increasing catfish inspections and regulations. The most critical decision by FSIS will be whether all or only some catfish will be covered under the new regulation shifting responsibility for the inspection [...] [...]
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — With all eyes focused on the Mississippi River’s epic floodwaters, catfish producers contemplate its potential impact on their already stressed industry. Jimmy Avery, aquaculture leader with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said if the river crests as high as predicted, several catfish farms in the South Delta, particularly those in Sharkey, [...] [...]