The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is inviting stakeholders to provide information to assist in the development of voluntary U.S. Standards for Grades of Catfish and Catfish Products.
The 2014 Farm Bill (The Agricultural Act of 2014) directed the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a voluntary, fee-based grading program for catfish.
AMS will use feedback from this notice (deadline 12 September) to develop a standard and a voluntary grading program for catfish. The agency is particularly interested in research, industry data, and background information from catfish producers, suppliers, processors, retailers, and foodservice operators, as well as comments related to the catfish quality standard, currently implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
There will be additional time for stakeholder feedback before implementing a grading program.
AMS develops and revises U.S. standards for around 240 agricultural products in close partnership with industry stakeholders to ensure that the standards reflect current practices. These standards provide a common language for buyers and sellers of commodities and are widely used by the agricultural industry in domestic and international trading, futures market contracts, and as a benchmark for purchase specifications in most private contracts.
