Aquaculture sales up 26 percent: Sales of aquaculture products totaled $1.9 billion in 2023, up by 26 percent from 2018; catfish and oysters accounted for 42 percent of sales and Mississippi was the top state with $277 million in sales. (USDA)
H-2A wages near $20 an hour: Wage rates for H-2A guestworkers will average nearly $20 an hour nationwide in 2025 under the formula administered by the Labor Department, said a coalition representing agricultural employers that called for reform of the “haphazard” wage-setting system. (Agriculture Workforce Coalition)
USDA clean energy funding: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $78.3 million in partially forgivable loans through the Powering Affordable Clean Energy program to projects serving almost 7,000 household in four states and American Samoa. (USDA)