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USDA Invites US Aquaculture to Inform Agency Activities Going Forward

Please join US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a series of Listening Sessions providing the US aquaculture industry an opportunity to communicate how USDA can best serve this farming community. These “Deep Dive” sessions hosted by various USDA Agencies (see below) across the Department’s eight Mission Areas start this week and will be followed by a December 11th webinar entitled “Aquaculture is Agriculture: USDA’s Role in supporting Farmers of Fish, Shellfish and Aquatic Plants.”

The webinar will feature presentations from USDA leaders; stakeholders representing seaweeds, shellfish, finfish and other sectors of agriculture; and report outs from each of the six Deep Dive sessions that will be captured for publication.  These events will raise the visibility of aquaculture within USDA and provide valuable engagement opportunities for farmers interested in USDA programs.

Each Deep Dive Topic session and the Webinar must be registered for separately and in advance.  For more information on USDA Aquaculture please see https://www.usda.gov/topics/farming/aquaculture.
USDA Deep Dive Sessions

Each session will be up to 3 hours, taking place from 2 pm – 5 pm EST on the day scheduled.

Supporting Aquaculture
November 16, 2020
Co-Chaired by Andrew Jermolowicz, RD, Alex Sereno, RMA and Christopher Vasquez, FSA
Relevant Agencies: FSA, RD, RMA
Register here.

Product and Consumer Marketing
November 17,2020
Chaired by Carl Schroeder, AMS
Relevant Agencies: AMS, NIFA, FSIS, ERS
Register here.

Product Innovation and Technology
November 20, 2020
Co-Chaired by Tim Sullivan and Christopher Green, NIFA
Relevant Agencies: ARS, NIFA, ERS
Register here.

Aquaculture Production Research
November 30, 2020
Co-Chaired by Amrit Bart and Christopher Green, NIFA
Relevant Agencies: ARS, NIFA
Register here.
Webinar, December 11, 2020
Register for the Webinar here.

9:00 am
Welcoming and Opening Remarks

9:30 am
Aquaculture Aligns with the Ag Innovation Agenda and the Science Blueprint
Peggy Biga, Office of the Chief Scientist

9:50 am
USDA’s Role in Updating the National Aquaculture Development Plan
Jeffrey Silverstein, Agricultural Research Service

10:10 am
Aquaculture Intersects with Agriculture
Dan Northrup, Benson Hill

10:30 am
Economic Development through Aquaculture
Andrew Jermolowicz, Rural Development

10:50 am
What US Aquaculture Needs from USDA: Aquatic Plants
Stephanie Showalter-Otts, University of Mississippi School of Law

11:10 am
What US Aquaculture Needs from USDA: Finfish
Jim Parsons, Cooke USA

11:30 am
What US Aquaculture Needs from USDA: Shellfish
Bill Dewey, Taylor Shellfish

11:50 am
Breakout Session Reports
Caird Rexroad, Agricultural Research Service

12:00 pm
Aquaculture Production Research
Amrit Bart and Christopher Green, National Institute for Food and Agriculture

12:10 pm
Aquatic Health
Kathleen Hartman, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

12:20 pm
Environmental Management
Gene Kim and Jan Surface, Natural Resource Conservation Service

12:30 pm
Production Innovation and Technology
Tim Sullivan, and Christopher Green, National Institute for Food and Agriculture

12:40 pm
Product and Consumer Marketing
Carl Schroeder, Agricultural Marketing Service

12:50 pm
Supporting Aquaculture
Andrew Jermolowicz, Rural Development, Christopher Vasquez, Farm Service Agency and Alex Sereno, Risk Management Agency

1:00 pm
Closing
Caird Rexroad, ARS and Peggy Biga, OCS

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