Texas awards grants to aquaculture producers

The Texas Department of Agriculture is awarding more than US$1.6 million in feed credits to 62 eligible Texas aquaculture producers, according to the department's commissioner Todd Staples.

The Texas aquaculture industry, which faces challenges such as rising input costs, contributes about US$171 million to the state's economy, Staples said.

The grants will therefore help aquaculture producers to stay afloat financially and help ensure the industry remains a national leader, he said.

The programme is designed to assist producers who suffered financial losses associated with high feed costs during the 2008 calendar year. Payments will be made in the form of feed credits that can be used at any participating feed supplier. Producers can use these credits until August 2010.

Funded by USDA, this programne aids producers of all aquaculture species raised in a controlled environment as part of a farming operation.