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Auburn, Sept. 13, 2002---Days are long and hot, and stress levels are running high around the Drury place these days. Catfish farmer Wallace "Bubba" Drury said there is rarely a moment without worry when it comes to maintaining his 50 catfish ponds in Hale County. And summers are the worst.

"This is a very high-risk type of farming," he said. "And the hotter the weather is, the worse it gets."

This summer, temperatures have been moderately high with several dry periods. The intense heat causes algae to bloom in ponds and makes the fish sluggish and slow to eat. Neither situation is good for the catfish farmer, Drury said.

Expensive, labor-intensive and extremely risky, catfish farming has climbed its way to the top of Alabama’s aquaculture industry, generating more than $90 million each year.

Alabama’s aquaculture industry, including the production of crawfish, saltwater shrimp and tilapia, involves more than 500 producers on fish farms spreading across more than 26,000 acres, said Dr. Jerry Crews, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System agricultural economist.

About 240 are considered large-scale operations, he said.

Crews said catfish farming has increased dramatically in the past twenty years and was the most profitable commodity in the state, with Alabama producers bringing in $60-70 million each year.

Hale County leads the state, housing more than 50 percent of the state’s catfish farmers, as well as one of the nation’s largest catfish processing plant.

Drury’s Catfish Farm sells its catfish to Southern Pride Catfish Company in Greensboro, Ala., which ships fish all across the United States.

Hale County Extension Agent Jamey Clary said his county’s rich soil is a natural attraction for catfish producers.

"Our heavy, clay prairie soil is good soil to raise fish in for several reasons," he said. "First, it’s cheaper to build ponds here because the clay soil holds water so well. It allows farmers to conserve water, so less water is pumped from wells and streams. Also, this is a really high alkaline soil. The lime in the soil has almost a medicinal effect on the fish, which tend to have less disease problems here in the Black Belt."

There are about 150 catfish farmers in Hale County. Until last year, it was by far the most lucrative product grown in the county in the past 15 years, Clary said.

Despite the commodity’s success over the past decade, several factors have affected catfish sales in the last year.

"Unfortunately, the industry has really taken a hit in the last year," Clary said. "The Vietnamese are shipping in fish that are raised in cages under floating homes on the Mekong River. They have been packaging the product as catfish. They use 50-cent-an-hour labor and sell it here cheaper than our farmers can grow the real thing. So that has hurt our farmers. The events of Sept. 11 have hurt them, too. Since then, people just aren’t eating out as much as they used to, and it has really depressed prices. "

Clary added, "The general economy isn’t that good right now, and so people don’t have as much money to eat out anymore. All those things have seriously hurt the catfish industry and the farmers are really having a tough time."

Crews said the major factors affecting the domestic catfish and aquaculture industries are expected to continue.

"On the downside, the catfish industry is wrestling with three important issues," he said. "First, there should be large supplies of competing meats, especially chicken. Second, forecasts show the U.S. economy has slowed down. This translates into decreased away-from-home eating, which provides strong support for catfish/seafood sales."

The third factor is new to the industry, Crews said.

"It’s the imports," he said. "Foreign catfish supplies have been relatively small until the last couple of years."

The imported products are mostly frozen fillets and targeted to the food service industry, he said. In 2000, imports were up to more than 6 percent. Last year, they had soared to more than 13 percent. That means fewer sales – and subsequently hard times – for Alabama producers.

Drury knows firsthand about the tough times for farmers. He’s seen his own business suffer, and he knows other farmers who are drying up their ponds and getting out of the business altogether.

Clary said catfish farming is a very labor-intensive enterprise, including the close watch and careful maintenance of the ponds. Even in the best of times, it’s not easy to farm catfish.

"From the first part of April to the first cold snap, which is usually in October, farmers never really breathe easy," he said. "During those warm months, they must constantly check the oxygen levels in their ponds. It’s a very stressful agricultural enterprise during the warmer months."

If the oxygen level in a pond drops below a certain point and control measures aren't taken, all the fish die. One bad night could wipe out an entire year’s profit.

"The farmers check the ponds, feed the fish and do maintenance on the paddle wheels, which aerate the ponds, during the day," Clary said. "Then they usually hire night checkers to go around and check all the ponds throughout the night."

While row-crop farmers may gradually lose their crops to drought, flooding or pests, they usually have time to try to stop the damage. Catfish farmers may lose everything in a few hours, Clary said.

"There’s no question this is a tough business," Drury said. "I don’t think it will ever be as good as it was, but I sure hope it gets better than it is now."

(Source: Jamey Clary, Hale County Extension Coordinator, 334-624-8710; Dr. Jerry Crews, Extension Economist, 334-844-3506)

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