A group of United States senators have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase more catfish, claiming that the sector is under “severe financial strain.”
Under Section 32 of the U.S. Agricultural Adjustment Act, the USDA can purchase surplus goods and use the food in federal food assistance programs, and the government does so regularly.
In a 30 June letter, five U.S. senators asked the USDA to exercise that authority to make bulk purchases of domestic catfish.
“Surplus purchases will assist catfish farmers and the thousands of jobs dependent upon this industry throughout the Southeast,” the senators stated in the joint letter. “The U.S. farmed catfish industry is extremely important to the states we represent. Nearly USD 2 billion [EUR 1.7 billion] in economic output, including more than 9,100 jobs, is directly or indirectly attributable to the production of U.S. farmed catfish. Farms and processing facilities in our states are typically among the largest employers in the economically depressed counties.”
According to the lawmakers, the catfish industry has been hard hit by rising production costs such as feed, electricity, and fuel, caused by inflation, making it all but impossible to turn a profit.
“The industry has been caught in a severe inflationary squeeze, particularly from 2023 to the present, fundamentally altering its production economics. This pressure has consistently driven the cost of producing U.S. farmed catfish above the prices farmers receive for their fish, leading to three continuous years of negative financial returns. The industry’s rising costs are dominated by the increasing expenses of key inputs, especially feed and energy, which represent the backbone of catfish farming operations,” the lawmakers said.
The letter was signed by U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama), U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas).
“The industry’s USDA Section 32 purchase request would provide needed relief by providing essential cash flow to farmers to help alleviate the severe financial strain imposed by inflationary pressures. USDA purchases of catfish would ... enable 2026 fish crops to be harvested and processed while also supporting rural communities and providing nutritious, American-grown product to families, children, and those in need,” the senators said.
The letter follows a similar call the Louisiana House of Representatives made in May, passed a resolution calling on the department to buy more shrimp under Section 32, something USDA has done annually since 2020. State lawmakers listed “foreign shrimp, rising operational costs, and market instability” as the main issues facing domestic shrimpers.
