Since August has been designated as National Catfish Month, I thought this would be an opportune time to post some facts & promote something near & dear to my heart -U.S. Farm Raised Catfish. The catfish industry, like many other industries in America, has faced several battles over the past few years with foreign imports. First it was the Basa (Vietnam) and now it’s the Chinese catfish.

According to the Catfish Institute, ninety-four percent of all U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is raised in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In 1985, the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry in these four states employed approximately 6,000 people and contributed roughly $2.1 billion to each states economy. Today, the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry employs more than 13,000 people and contributes more than $4 billion to each states economy.

In knowing how much the farm raised catfish industry means to these states, especially, 2 of the 4 poorest regions in the nation being the Black Belt & Delta, I find it amazing that our retailers & wholesalers continue to push an inferior product to pad their pockets & actually hurt our country. They’re not only doing it with imported catfish, but other imported commodities as well. If we continue to allow foreign foods to take over our markets, we will continue to give our country’s most powerful asset- our freedom- away. We in America need to come together & support our own farmers before our food supply is dictated by other countries.