Cullman County has consistently been one of — if not the top — the best represented poultry production counties in the state of Alabama; and last year was ranked as its second-largest producer in the beef industry. There could one day be an addition to that fame.
From a hobbyist perspective, Davis and Yancey Dickerson have raised both cows and chickens, but for a little more than a year they have begun to test the waters on offering an unexpected variety of commercial protein.
Just more than 281 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, the Dickerson’s D&Y Farms has become one of only a handful of indoor saltwater shrimp farms in the country. But, Yancey said, at least in the beginning, there weren’t any type of lofty ambitions. They simply wanted to know where their food came from and ensure they consumed clean, healthy proteins.
“We started out with just six chickens in our backyard,” Yancey said. “We just wanted to raise our own eggs and chickens to have clean meat for ourself. My dad raises cows, so we already had beef.”
With the “turf” half of their meals covered, Yancey said she continued to be disappointed by what she typically found in the seafood aisles at most grocery stores. So, she said they began to explore ways to begin raising their own.
“That’s really the gist of it. It was just us trying to find the cleanest things we could eat and become more self reliant,” she said.
The Dickersons have now developed an indoor operation which allows them to produce saltwater shrimp year ‘round as opposed to larger lower salinity outdoor ponds which are only operational for three to four months. Eight 14-foot above-ground swimming pools are filled a saltwater and each contain between 2,500 and 3,000 shrimp. The pools are covered to reduce evaporation — and deter rogue shrimp from escaping — and are fitted with lights to simulate sunrise and sunset. The final touches include aerators to maintain oxygen levels and heating/cooling lines for temperature control.
“Talk about a snowball,” Davis said in reference to the six chickens Yancey mentioned earlier.
The Pacific White Leg Shrimp the Dickersons raise is one of the heartiest prawn breeds around, which is why it has become the standard among shrimp farmers across the globe. But while D&Y shrimp may look similar those in the nearest frozen food section, Yancey said they couldn’t be more different.
A 2018 study from the Louisiana Fisheries Forward organization found that more than 90 percent of shrimp consumed in the U.S. is imported, mostly from countries such as China, Indonesia and Thailand. The same study showed that in 2015, the Government Accountability Office found only 2.2 percent of all incoming seafood was examined by the Food and Drug Administration and only .04 percent had been actually sampled.
“The difference in imported shrimp and ours is the level of care we give them. These shrimp are really spoiled. They get a specialized type of shrimp feed that’s all really clean stuff made just for them,” Yancey said.
There are other benefits the production methods at D&Y Farms have over wild caught shrimp for both the environment and the consumer.
Wild fisheries target specific bottom dwelling species such as shrimp by trawling, which involves dragging large heavy nets across the ocean floor but often kills a wide variety of non-targeted marine life and disrupts fragile coral reefs and other marine structures. The scientific journal of Nature discovered in 2021 that the process also releases millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the ocean each year.
If those environmental impacts weren’t enough of a sale, the taste of sustainably farmed shrimp may be enough to win over skeptics. The Dickersons use a system of aquaculture known as biofloc which utilizes microbial biotechnology to to increase the efficacy of fish feed and convert wast to a useful, nutrient rich supplementary feed source.
“You hear people talking about how they only want deveined shrimp because most of the time that vein is really gritty. That’s because those shrimps have basically eaten trash. Ours don’t have that problem. There’s nothing except feed in those pools for them to eat,” Yancey said.
The Dickersons said their shrimp will be featured on the menu during the North Alabama Agriplex’s upcoming Home to Harvest fundraising dinner in September and that they have been in talks with a handful of local business and restaurant owners about carrying their products. Brother’s Processing and Ryan Creek Produce already have shrimp in stock.
Until then, though, orders can be placed on their website (dyfarmsllc.com/), by calling 256-708-9097 or by visiting the farm located at 260 County Road 802.