Ed Scott, a catfish farmer, writes about taking food to the Freedom Riders on the Mississippi in the 1960's.

To their frustration, American catfish farmers complain that they are being penalized for doing exactly what the Agriculture Department claims is needed in rural America.

By giving up crops, these catfish farmers also gave up heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, good news for the environment.

Above all, the catfish farmers say, they have preserved an important part of the sport-fishing culture of the South, and a culinary staple.

While the catfish farmers won the first skirmish, they have yet to convince the larger agricultural world that the Vietnamese are in the wrong.

There is also a large aquacultural base consisting mainly of catfish farmers.

The first attack by American catfish farmers was semantic.

Last year, with the aid of Trent Lott, then the Senate majority leader, the American catfish farmers managed to persuade Congress to overturn science.

Some of the jobs featured during the show's run have included a firefighter and a catfish farmer.

Researchers say catfish farmers, and ultimately consumers, would benefit because the fish could be produced in 12 months instead of the 18 months it now takes.