catfish industry hurting 06-23-08

CATFISH FARMERS SAY THEIR INDUSTRY IS LOSING JOBS. WITH THE HIGH PRICE OF FUEL AND FEED FOR THE FISH, CATFISH FARMERS SAY JOBS ARE BEING LOST AT A FAST PACE. THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF INDUSTRIES GENERATING JOBS HERE IN THE DELTA AND THE CATFISH BUSINESS USED TO BE ONE OF THEM. THE NATION GETS MOST OF ITS CATFISH FROM MISSISSIPPI, ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA AND ALABAMA. DICK STEVENS, President of CONSOLIDATING CATFISH CO., says "the primary driver is grain costs have gone out of sight, several years ago." FARMERS AND OTHERS IN THE BUSINESS TELL ABC SIX NEWS REPORTER DALIA BAXTER THAT THEY DON'T SEE THINGS GETTING ANY BETTER IN THE NEAR FUTURE.