Alabama Fish Farming Center

The Alabama Fish Farming Center (AFFC) was created in 1983 as an entity under the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee (ALS & WCC). The purpose of the AFFC was to provide technical assistance to Alabama's rapidly growing catfish farming industry in the area of pond design: disease and water quality analysis; and farm management. To accomplish this, the ALS & WCC contracted with Auburn University's Cooperative Extension Service (ACES) to provide and equip and aquaculturist; Auburn's Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) to provide and equip a fish health specialist; and with the Soil Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide and equip an agricultural engineer. The ALS & WCC the provided an administrative assistant and a technician employed through the Hale County Soil and Water District and provided funding to house the center in Greensboro. The Center's annual budget came from the General Fund through the ALS & WCC which was the Center's parent agency. At that time there were approximately 8,000 acres of catfish production in Alabama. By 2001 the Center was servicing 25,000 acres of catfish production and had moved into a larger facility which also now jointly houses the USDA Wildlife Services agency. Then in 2002 a combination of events and circumstances starting with a 9/11 recession and continuing with import pressures from Asia reduced the demand for the US farm raised catfish. In 2003 severe budget cuts to ALS & WCC from the General Fund resulted in major cuts in funding to the Fish Farming Center. In 2004 NRCS terminated its involvement with the Alabama Fish Farming Center due to lack of demand for its services. The end result was that in 2005 Auburn University assumed budgetary control and administrative oversight through the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures as its funding was transferred from the General Fund to the Educational Fund. In late 2005 Auburn added an Agricultural Economist to the staff to help farmers cope with the difficult economic conditions the industry was facing. Auburn's Department of Fisheries has also conducted a significant amount of research through the Alabama Fish Farming Center by use of grants (i.e. Blackbelt Initiative and Pond-to-Plate projects) to help improve the efficiency and productivity of the industry as well as help diversify the industry for the future.