The ripple effect of high corn and soybean prices is reaching inland ponds.

Catfish farming is probably not the first industry that comes to mind when you think about grain-fed products. Yet these operations have a long history in the delta that is hitting a dead end.

Catfish farming flourished in the delta when some cotton growers had the idea of putting catfish ponds on soil too dry to grow cotton. There emerged several catfish companies that grew into a $460 million industry, according to 2005 statistics from the Department of Agriculture. In fact, catfish used to be the largest farm-raised fish industry, employing 10,000 people.

The industry's decline can't be blamed entirely on feed costs, of course. International catfish and other fish products (especially from Vietnam and China) started to flood the market years ago, pressuring producers to reduce prices in order to compete.

Still, rising grain prices was the straw that broke the catfish producer's back. They have tried alternative feeds, like gluten, but now even these prices (typically, gluten is a cheaper derivative of corn) are high because of Midwest floods. Not to mention transportation costs these days.

Many catfish operations are closing their doors, including one of the nation's five largest companies. An industry that replaced cotton farming in some parts of the delta is preparing to sow something a bit more promising: soybeans and corn. Only, as hundreds of catfish pools are drained, so too is a celebrated culture.

Source: The New York Times

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