STARKVILLE, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Lower feed prices are providing some relief to Mississippi’s catfish producers, but officials with the Mississippi State University (MSU) Extension Service said many are still facing more than their share of obstacles just to break even.

Among these are middling demand, high operating costs and renovation.

“Marketing challenges have delayed fish sales by small and medium-sized farms as processors try to clear inventory of large fish products from their freezers,” said Jimmy Avery, MSU Extension Service aquaculture professor at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. “Retailers are taking advantage of these lower priced products leading to a decreased need for average size fillets.”

Mississippi is still the top state for catfish production in the U.S., joined by neighboring Arkansas and Alabama. Despite a slight reduction in water surface acreage this year from 2023, Mississippi still has double what their two closest competitors have combined.

“Catfish water acreage continues to drop in major producing states. Mississippi acreage in July 2024 is 29,000 acres, down 3,000 acres from the same month in 2023. Another 1,100 acres is currently under or scheduled for renovation,” said Avery.

Despite the reduction in acreage, processing and feeding amounts are close to last year’s volume.

“Catfish processed through the first half of 2024 totaled 165 million pounds, which is 2% higher than the same period in 2023,” said MSU Extension agricultural economist Josh Maples. “Prices received by farmers have been about 12% lower than during the first half of 2023.”

Feed prices have stabilized in the $475-per-ton range for 32% protein feed, which is down about 10% from last fall.

This year, most channel catfish hatcheries reached their spawning season goals by late May. This season typically lasts from late April to mid-June.

Ganesh Kumar, aquaculture economist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said the cost of catfish production currently ranges from $1.12 to $1.30 per pound while producers receive $1.10 to $1.15 per pound for their fish.

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