WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today introduced the Crawfish Recovery Assistance from Weather Disasters and Droughts (CRAWDAD) Act. The bill would support Louisiana’s crawfish jobs as droughts and severe weather have put strain on the industry.

“Louisiana’s crawfish farmers have worked hard to weather a bad freeze and devastating drought. My CRAWDAD Act would give mudbug farmers the help they need to keep delivering quality Louisiana fare to crawfish lovers everywhere,” said Kennedy.

The CRAWDAD Act would expand Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) funding to crawfish producers. The bill would also classify a drought as a weather event that the Secretary of Agriculture could declare as an emergency. 

Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expanded ELAP in the past to extend assistance to crawfish farmers when the industry suffered losses in 2021. Kennedy’s bill would ensure crawfish farmers remain eligible for the assistance they need without waiting for bureaucrats to make that determination. 

Background: 

• The ELAP provides producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish access to federal financial assistance when they face adverse weather, disease or loss conditions.

• In 2023, Louisiana experienced extreme drought conditions that led to a shortage in crawfish and higher market prices.

• As a result, the price per pound of crawfish is now nearly double what it was in 2023.   

• Kennedy’s bill would ensure that Louisiana’s crawfish farmers could receive federal aid in order to sustain their businesses and Louisiana jobs during difficult conditions.

The Louisiana Farm Bureau supports Kennedy’s CRAWDAD Act.

“Drought has not spared any crop or commodity in Louisiana, but crawfish, in-particular, has no current safety net to keep our farmers afloat. Senator Kennedy offering this bill is a huge support to our efforts to get crawfish farmers an adequate safety net, while also updating an existing cattle program with common sense solutions. We depend on someone like Senator Kennedy to deliver these solutions and he has stepped up in a big way,” said Louisiana Farm Bureau President Jim Harper. 

Full bill text of the CRAWDAD Act is available here.