Extension’s catfish services support producers, consumers
Dr. Jimmy Avery, catfish specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, works at the MSU Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center and leads the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Southern Regional Aquaculture Center.
Mississippi is the nation’s top catfish-producing state, supported by research and outreach from the Mississippi State University Extension Service. MSU’s recent ranking as the top university in the world for aquaculture underscores Extension’s role in moving research into practice across Mississippi’s catfish-producing counties, including Bolivar, Clay, Chickasaw, Coahoma, Issaquena, Leflore, Lowndes, Neshoba, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Sharkey, Tallahatchie, Tunica, Washington, Winston and Yazoo.
Dr. Jimmy Avery, Extension catfish specialist, provides research-based guidance to producers through workshops, demonstrations, seminars and publications. Technologies and practices developed through MSU research have helped drive a 59% increase in production efficiency for catfish producers nationwide.
Avery also supports food safety and regulatory coordination, working with agencies including the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Farm Service Agency and Agricultural Marketing Service. He helps inform food safety standards, disaster assistance needs and surplus purchasing for nutrition programs.
Avery works with the MSU Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville and directs the USDA-NIFA Southern Regional Aquaculture Center.
