Danny Walker, Heartland Catfish Company’s CEO since its founding, was selected to be a recipient of Mississippi State University’s 2019 College of Agriculture and Life Science Alumni Achievement Award. Only two or three individuals are honored with this award each year. The College of Agriculture and Life Science, or CALS, graduates are awarded based on career achievements to honor their relationship with MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Science.

Walker, a fifth-generation Mississippian, earned a bachelor of science in agriculture, engineering, technology and business from MSU. He also received a bachelor of business administration in banking and finance. While at Mississippi State, Walker was a member of the Mississippi State Band and Sigma Chi Fraternity.

For over 25 years, Walker has been at the helm of Heartland Catfish Company, and he has helped it grow into the industry leader it is today. His record of new market development and industry representation have helped new U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish markets open. Walker is dedicated to protecting unregulated foreign imports of catfish-like products into these same markets.

Under his leadership, Heartland Catfish has expanded its original processing facility in Itta Bena, Mississippi. The most recent expansions will come in early 2020, and Heartland Catfish will have access to a new packaging wing and inventory freezer, which will consolidate all live fish processing and packaging under one roof.

Walker’s work at Heartland Catfish Company, along with his commitment to his local community, also earned him recognition as one of Mississippi’s CEOs of the Year for 2019 by the Mississippi Business Journal. In his free time, Heartland’s CEO enjoys spending time with his wife, children and two grandchildren, being active in the Episcopal Church in Greenwood, Mississippi and as an avid outdoorsman, he also enjoys hunting and fishing.