Hurricane Aid Went To Catfish Farmers

WASHINGTON (AP) - Alabama, Mississippi and other Gulf states
have changed the way they distribute federal grants to catfish
farmers after an audit found that millions of dollars in hurricane
aid may have gone to farmers who suffered little or no losses.
The new approach is in response to a federal Agriculture
Department report last fall that said lax oversight led to
"significant disparities" in how states distributed grants after
the devastating 2005 hurricane season that included Katrina, Rita
and other storms.
The audit reviewed $25 million in grants that USDA's Farm
Services Agency gave catfish farmers and other "aquaculture"
operations such as crawfish and shrimp farms.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)