WASHINGTON, D.C. - Louisiana congressman Clay Higgins submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting assistance for the state's crawfish industry as business owners, fishermen, and consumers alike suffer from the recent drought and freeze.

In the letter sent Wednesday, Higgins asked the DoA to revise the criteria for an eligible cause of loss to include drought under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program. 

Higgins said the estimated loss from the drought and freeze totaled approximately 45,000 acres of crawfish ponds and a monetary loss of around $140 million. 

"I strongly urge the Department of Agriculture to revise the eligibility criteria to include drought events and to redefine what constitutes a freeze under ELAP," Higgins wrote. "These changes are vital for providing relief to the crawfish industry, which is not only economically significant but also an integral part of our state's cultural heritage."