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Catfish farms also suffer in the drought

The little bit of rain the past couple of weeks is helping some with our drought conditions, but water levels are still down in ponds and lakes.

Those low water levels are hurting catfish farmers in our area.

Right now it means added expenses for the farmer, expenses they may eventually have to pass along to the consumer.

Milton Taylor's family owns 6 ponds.

They raise, process, and sell catfish.

But a primary ingredient has been in short supply.

"To make sure we've got plenty available for our fish market, we keep at least 10,000 and sometimes up to 15,000 pounds in this pond," says Taylor. 

But with the water down almost 2 feet, it can get crowded in a pond normally 7 feet deep.

Quality is also a concern.

"We test it for PH, alkaline, nitrites that would come out of the settlings in the mud," says Taylor.

Most important is oxygen. It's even used in transport. That's where an aerator comes in.

"If we keep proper oxygen levels in our ponds and keep everything monitored as closely to normal as possible, we're not going to have that fish that's going to have that musty, muddy taste. We're going to have a fish that's going to have a good clear taste," says Taylor. 

Taylor is lucky because he has a natural spring that runs through his property. After the fish are harvested, they're put in there and they're able to swim in the natural spring water before being processed and shipped off.

Groups of fish are sampled and re-sampled until the taste is right.

Taylor says he's spending a lot more on diesel fuel, feed, and aeration, but he thinks he can hang on for about 2 more months before he'll be forced to pass along those costs.