The amount of resources that fishing and seafood businesses could gain access to at USDA if our seafood priorities are enacted is staggering. USDA issues around $130 billion in Farm Credit Program loans each year and it issued $3.4 billion in young farmer and rancher loans last year. Assuming that the seafood and fishing industries are around 10% of the overall food producer economy in the US, there’s a massive amount of low-cost capital that could suddenly become available. It would also be beneficial to socialize the idea of a seafood liaison at USDA and make sure the agency knows that there’s a combination of good connections and serious accountability to be had when the liaison comes to PME each year!
The Farm Bill isn’t going to move in Congress until at least after the election, so a November discussion of this issue is guaranteed to be timely. The House might pass its bill that the Ag Committee marked up in June, but all eyes are on the Senate, which is where all the good seafood language is currently (on the Republican side, thanks to the Alaska delegation). There are some scenarios where they move this thing in the Lame Duck, but most likely this is going to be a 2025 discussion. Therefore it’s going to be important for the industry to understand what’s happening in DC and why their input on this issue could be so valuable.
