It’s around midnight when alarms start buzzing on Heath Clary’s phone, notifying him of low dissolved oxygen (DO) in his Newbern catfish ponds. 

The 2024 Alabama Catfish Farmer of the Year slips on his boots and heads out the door into darkness to meet his team and add more tractor-powered aerators to the ponds. 

“It’s part of the job,” said Clary, a Hale County Farmers Federation board member who also chairs the local Young Farmers Committee. “The DO in the water was low, and we were out here till around 1:30 a.m. placing aerators.”

It’s now 6 a.m. Thick fog settles on the ponds as Clary climbs into the seat of a truck-mounted crane. On the opposite end is a giant net ready to capture high-quality, homegrown catfish currently corralled by a seine and three-man harvest crew.

The mornings come early, and the nights end late for Clary. This isn’t new for someone who’s been in the catfish industry from an early age. 

“My dad began as a contract seiner around the time I was born,” Clary said. “I was always an extra hand when someone didn’t show. I wanted to do anything but what my dad did when I left for college. I’d had my fill of it.”

Clary went to the University of South Alabama in Mobile. While there, he married his wife, Christina, and knew he needed a job to support his growing family. 

“When I graduated, I applied for a sales job, and Dad asked me if I wanted to come back and operate a seine crew,” Clary said. “Those were the best offers I had. The other company chose someone else, so I went back north and came home.”

Clary worked with a harvest crew for two years before the opportunity to farm full time surfaced in 2016. 

“Farming was something I always wanted,” Clary said. “I remember as a kid working on other farms and being jealous because other kids were working and playing on their farm. I knew when I got an opportunity to get into something, I wanted to take it.”

Relying on confidence, knowledge of the industry and relationships built over years as a harvester, Clary waded into the waters of catfish farming. 

Clary’s American Aquaculture catfish farm and harvesting services have since grown into a family affair. He manages 24 ponds while raising three boys — Randall, 7, Jack, 5, and John Hardy, 3 — with Christina. They’re expecting twins later this year.

“I’m blessed,” Clary said. “My goal is for my children to know that if they love this, I’m behind them and will do anything to help them. If it’s not what they want to do, that’s OK, too.”

Alabama Farmers Federation Catfish Division Director William Green said the industry needs more young, hardworking farmers like Clary. 

“Heath is a bright spot in a struggling industry,” Green said. “Farmers are in a tough place with slim profit margins and high input costs. It’s great to see a young, passionate and efficient farmer succeed while growing a family.”

Clary echoed Green’s concerns, saying he hopes to use his position as Alabama’s Catfish Farmer of the Year to raise awareness — and sales.

“I hope this position means more sales,” Clary said with a laugh. “I’m proud of being elected to represent catfish farmers here in Alabama. I appreciate knowing a group of men who have years of experience had enough faith to select me. I hope I can put a face to the industry and the struggles and raise awareness.”

Clary’s message is simple. 

“Eat more U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish,” Clary said. “Ask where the fish came from when eating in restaurants. People are getting high-quality, high-protein, well-cared-for and clean fish when they choose our product. It’s a good, healthy and safe option to feed families.”