text: ) , Alabama has the sixth highest poverty rate among states in the U.S.In 2017, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston toured parts of rural Alabama and observed environmental conditions he said were poorer than anywhere he had seen in the developed world.Largest employers The five employers that employed the most employees in Alabama in April 2011 were: The next twenty largest employers, , included: Agriculture Alabama's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, fish, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches.Although known as "The Cotton State", Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth in national cotton production, according to various reports, with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three.Aquaculture Aquaculture is a large part of the economy of Alabama.Alabamians began to practice aquaculture in the early 1960s.U.S.farm-raised catfish is the 8th most popular seafood product in America.By 2008, approximately 4,000 people in Alabama were employed by the catfish industry and Alabama produced 132 million pounds of catfish.In 2020, Alabama produced of the United States' farm-raised catfish.The total 2020 sales of catfish raised in Alabama equaled $307 million but by 2020 the total employment of Alabamians fell to 2,442.From the early 2000s to 2020, the Alabamian catfish industry has declined from 250 farms and 4 processors to 66 farms and 2 processors.Reasons for this decline include increased feed prices, catfish alternatives, COVID-19's impact on restaurant sales, disease, and fish size.Industry Alabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel.In addition, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, the location of NASA's George C.