{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tuberville-continues-advocating-for-alabamas-catfish-industry/", "Tuberville Continues Advocating\u00a0for Alabama\u2019s Catfish Industry", "2026-07-20", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Tommy Tuberville", "T000278", "www.tuberville.senate.gov", "tuberville", "https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) in endorsing a request made by the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help the industry by purchasing catfish products. Sens. Tuberville and Hyde-Smith wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins asking her to approve a request to purchase U.S. farm-raised catfish products through the Agricultural Marketing Service Section 32 Program.\n\nSection 32 is a permanently authorized program that allows the USDA to make emergency purchases of surplus U.S. commodities for distribution to domestic food assistance programs. The program is funded through 30 percent of the previous year\u2019s customs receipts collected by the U.S. government from imported products.\n\nThe letter is a continuation of advocacy by the Senators to include farm-raised catfish, Gulf shrimp, and other commodities included in USDA Section 32 decisions.\n\n\u201cThe industry\u2019s 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 provide immediate relief and 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,\u201d wrote the Senators.\n\nSens. Tuberville and Hyde-Smith were joined by Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) in signing the letter.\n\nRead full text of the letter below or here.\n\n\u201cDear Secretary Rollins,\n\nWe write to support the request made by the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase surplus catfish products through the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service Section 32 Program. Surplus purchases will assist catfish farmers and the thousands of jobs dependent upon this industry throughout the Southeast.\n\nThe U.S. farm-raised catfish industry is extremely important to the states we represent. Nearly $2 billion in economic output, including more than 9,100 jobs, is directly or indirectly attributable to the production of U.S. farm-raised catfish. Farms and processing facilities in our states are typically among the largest employers in the economically depressed counties.\n\nThe 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. farm-raised catfish above the prices farmers receive for their fish, leading to three continuous years of negative financial returns.\n\nThe industry\u2019s rising costs are dominated by the increasing expenses of key inputs, especially feed and energy, which represent the backbone of catfish farming operations.\n\nFeed costs remain high and account for 43 percent of catfish production expenses. While the most recent data indicates some reduction in pricing, feed costs remain elevated above the historical normal range of $350\u2013$375 per ton, especially for the 32 percent protein diet. As soybean meal is the major ingredient in U.S. catfish feed, its price volatility and high cost directly translate to increased production expenses.\n\nU.S. catfish farmers have adopted modern, intensive pond production methods and improved energy efficiency per acre, but fuel and electricity costs \u2014 which account for 10 percent of production expenses \u2014 remain a significant burden. Energy-intensive processes like pond aeration are essential to maintaining healthy fish populations, and producers have limited ability to absorb volatility in fuel and electricity markets.\n\nTogether, these cost pressures have pushed the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry into a crisis of economic sustainability, with the cost of production far surpassing the price of fish at the dock \u2014 resulting in three consecutive years of negative margins for producers.\n\nThe industry\u2019s 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 provide immediate relief and 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.\n\nWe encourage you to consider all the factors facing the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry and approve this request. We also look forward to our continued partnership in supporting agriculture and our nation\u2019s rural communities.\n\nSincerely,\u201d\n\nMORE:\n\nTuberville, Britt Send Letter to Secretary Rollins on Threats to Alabama\u2019s Catfish Industry\n\nTuberville Raises Concerns Over Foreign Seafood and Lumber Imports Undercutting Alabama Producers\n\nSenator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans\u2019 Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-21T07:32:02Z", "2026-07-21T07:33:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/tuberville-continues-advocating-for-alabamas-catfish-industry/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7396830953657627, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}