PROVIDING BETTER ACCESS TO MEDICATED FEED FOR KENTUCKY AQUACULTURISTS AND A SUBSEQUENT SURVEY OF THEIR OPINIONS AND PERCEPTIONS OF THIS SERVICE

Fish farmers in Kentucky and surrounding states are often faced with challenges when trying to obtain medicated feed to treat internal bacterial infections of their fish. The lack of infrastructure in the region (feed mills, supply sources, etc.) causes fish farmers to choose treatment options other than medicated feed due to difficulties in obtaining it and ordering medicated feed can be expensive due to ordering small quantities with high shipping costs. Most fish farmers in this part of the country report that it takes approximately 11-15 days for the medicated feed to arrive, which is after the peak of the disease mortalities. Objectives of the project were:

• To evaluate the perception of farmers towards the effectiveness of medicated feed treatment options,
• To evaluate the perception of farmers to the accessibility of medicated feed (containing Aquaflor®, Romet® or Terramycin®) in Kentucky and surrounding states influenced by establishment of the Kentucky State University Aquaculture Research Center (KSU ARC) as a VFD distributor, and
• To evaluate the perception of farmers towards the effectiveness of fish health services of KSU ARC.

The outcome of this research project may assist in reducing economic losses currently experienced by fish farmers in Kentucky and surrounding states and foster the growth and sustainability of fish farming in the region.