Aq 4 (12-07) Released December 21, 2007, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Feed Deliveries" call Charles Butler at 601-965-4575, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. NASS US Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. November 2007 Catfish Feed Deliveries Up 26 Percent from Last Year Total catfish feed delivered in the United States during November 2007 was 22,374 tons, up 26 percent from November 2006, but down 70 percent from the previous month. Foodsize catfish feed delivered totaled 21,830 tons, up 29 percent from the corresponding month a year ago. Feed delivered for fingerlings and broodfish totaled 544 tons, down 34 percent from the corresponding month a year ago. November feed delivered to Mississippi catfish growers for foodsize fish totaled 8,855 tons, up 52 percent from last year. Mississippi accounted for 41 percent of the total foodsize catfish feed delivered to U.S. farmers. The other major States with catfish feed deliveries for foodsize fish in November and their comparison to the previous year were: Alabama with 6,628 tons, up 22 percent; Arkansas with 2,076 tons, up 68 percent; and Louisiana with 1,382 tons, up significantly from last year. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, United States, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------- Tons ------ Percent ------- Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 5,103 4,488 88 5,103 4,488 88 Feb : 3,970 6,038 152 9,073 10,526 116 Mar : 20,048 38,718 193 29,121 49,244 169 Apr : 52,246 40,998 78 81,367 90,242 111 May : 80,433 102,859 128 161,800 193,101 119 Jun : 112,326 127,246 113 274,126 320,347 117 Jul : 124,208 133,478 107 398,334 453,825 114 Aug : 139,191 135,806 98 537,525 589,631 110 Sep : 112,525 126,105 112 650,050 715,736 110 Oct 1/ : 54,011 73,196 136 704,061 788,932 112 Nov : 16,948 21,830 129 721,009 810,762 112 Dec : 5,829 726,838 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Fingerlings and Broodfish, United States, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ------ Percent ------ Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 469 260 55 469 260 55 Feb : 367 342 93 836 602 72 Mar : 1,381 2,126 154 2,217 2,728 123 Apr : 2,200 1,967 89 4,417 4,695 106 May : 3,181 4,686 147 7,598 9,381 123 Jun : 6,265 5,560 89 13,863 14,941 108 Jul : 9,754 6,937 71 23,617 21,878 93 Aug : 11,611 10,028 86 35,228 31,906 91 Sep : 8,483 5,118 60 43,711 37,024 85 Oct 2/ : 3,642 2,612 72 47,353 39,636 84 Nov : 829 544 66 48,182 40,180 83 Dec : 172 48,354 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The sum of the published States may not equal the total to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 2/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, Alabama, 2006-2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month: By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ------ Percent ------- Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 1,809 2,023 112 1,809 2,023 112 Feb : 1,529 1,803 118 3,338 3,826 115 Mar : 5,732 9,324 163 9,070 13,150 145 Apr : 12,758 8,565 67 21,828 21,715 99 May : 20,506 23,384 114 42,334 45,099 107 Jun : 29,580 33,829 114 71,914 78,928 110 Jul : 33,360 36,960 111 105,274 115,888 110 Aug : 36,392 35,532 98 141,666 151,420 107 Sep : 25,588 29,747 116 167,254 181,167 108 Oct : 12,181 19,288 158 179,435 200,455 112 Nov : 5,438 6,628 122 184,873 207,083 112 Dec : 2,085 186,958 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, Arkansas, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ------ Percent ------- Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 422 199 47 422 199 47 Feb : 306 529 173 728 728 100 Mar : 2,794 6,656 238 3,522 7,384 210 Apr : 9,861 8,029 81 13,383 15,413 115 May : 14,552 21,303 146 27,935 36,716 131 Jun : 18,654 20,950 112 46,589 57,666 124 Jul : 20,193 20,636 102 66,782 78,302 117 Aug : 22,879 23,786 104 89,661 102,088 114 Sep : 20,138 21,371 106 109,799 123,459 112 Oct 1/ : 8,994 9,525 106 118,793 132,984 112 Nov : 1,233 2,076 168 120,026 135,060 113 Dec : 596 120,622 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Fingerlings and Broodfish, Arkansas, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ----- Percent ------ Tons ----- Percent : Jan : 192 88 46 192 88 46 Feb : 172 89 52 364 177 49 Mar : 678 568 84 1,042 745 71 Apr : 821 355 43 1,863 1,100 59 May : 616 576 94 2,479 1,676 68 Jun : 715 663 93 3,194 2,339 73 Jul : 1,116 774 69 4,310 3,113 72 Aug : 1,503 1,427 95 5,813 4,540 78 Sep : 2,667 1,125 42 8,480 5,665 67 Oct 1/ : 680 677 100 9,160 6,342 69 Nov : 175 181 103 9,335 6,523 70 Dec : 102 9,437 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, Louisiana, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ----- Percent ------ Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 283 11 4 283 11 4 Feb : 146 410 281 429 421 98 Mar : 929 1,932 208 1,358 2,353 173 Apr : 1,936 1,690 87 3,294 4,043 123 May : 2,821 2,972 105 6,115 7,015 115 Jun : 3,600 3,544 98 9,715 10,559 109 Jul : 3,652 3,658 100 13,367 14,217 106 Aug : 4,379 4,447 102 17,746 18,664 105 Sep : 3,918 3,912 100 21,664 22,576 104 Oct 1/ : 1,689 2,890 171 23,353 25,466 109 Nov : 633 1,382 218 23,986 26,848 112 Dec : 216 24,202 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Fingerlings and Broodfish, Louisiana, 2006-2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month: By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- Tons ---- Percent ---- Tons ---- Percent : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : 2 3 150 2 3 150 May : 2 3 150 Jun : 17 2 12 19 5 26 Jul : 3 22 5 23 Aug : 22 5 23 Sep : 12 34 5 15 Oct : 34 5 15 Nov : 34 5 15 Dec : 34 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, Mississippi, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ------ Percent ------- Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 1,169 1,033 88 1,169 1,033 88 Feb : 773 2,126 275 1,942 3,159 163 Mar : 7,980 16,944 212 9,922 20,103 203 Apr : 24,335 19,217 79 34,257 39,320 115 May : 37,972 49,837 131 72,229 89,157 123 Jun : 54,484 62,580 115 126,713 151,737 120 Jul : 61,063 65,230 107 187,776 216,967 116 Aug : 67,741 65,099 96 255,517 282,066 110 Sep : 55,565 63,635 115 311,082 345,701 111 Oct 1/ : 25,533 36,018 141 336,615 381,719 113 Nov : 5,824 8,855 152 342,439 390,574 114 Dec : 1,177 343,616 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Fingerlings and Broodfish, Mississippi, 2006-2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month: By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ----- Percent ------ Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 191 66 35 191 66 35 Feb : 134 207 154 325 273 84 Mar : 505 1,369 271 830 1,642 198 Apr : 1,084 1,348 124 1,914 2,990 156 May : 2,305 3,812 165 4,219 6,802 161 Jun : 5,265 4,646 88 9,484 11,448 121 Jul : 8,319 5,764 69 17,803 17,212 97 Aug : 9,676 8,111 84 27,479 25,323 92 Sep : 5,442 3,422 63 32,921 28,745 87 Oct : 2,733 1,737 64 35,654 30,482 85 Nov : 612 280 46 36,266 30,762 85 Dec : 20 36,286 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, Other States East of the Mississippi River, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ----- Percent ------ Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 554 568 103 554 568 103 Feb : 220 308 140 774 876 113 Mar : 776 1,623 209 1,550 2,499 161 Apr : 1,174 1,573 134 2,724 4,072 149 May : 1,878 2,212 118 4,602 6,284 137 Jun : 2,243 2,575 115 6,845 8,859 129 Jul : 2,564 3,548 138 9,409 12,407 132 Aug : 3,275 2,670 82 12,684 15,077 119 Sep : 2,929 2,867 98 15,613 17,944 115 Oct 1/ : 1,789 2,223 124 17,402 20,167 116 Nov : 893 817 91 18,295 20,984 115 Dec : 455 18,750 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Foodsize Fish, Other States West of the Mississippi River, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Tons ----- Percent ------ Tons ------ Percent : Jan : 866 654 76 866 654 76 Feb : 996 862 87 1,862 1,516 81 Mar : 1,837 2,239 122 3,699 3,755 102 Apr : 2,182 1,924 88 5,881 5,679 97 May : 2,704 3,151 117 8,585 8,830 103 Jun : 3,765 3,768 100 12,350 12,598 102 Jul : 3,376 3,446 102 15,726 16,044 102 Aug : 4,525 4,272 94 20,251 20,316 100 Sep : 4,387 4,573 104 24,638 24,889 101 Oct 1/ : 3,825 3,252 85 28,463 28,141 99 Nov : 2,927 2,072 71 31,390 30,213 96 Dec : 1,300 32,690 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Catfish Feed: Tons Delivered For Fingerlings and Broodfish, Other States West of the Mississippi River, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Month : By Month :Percent of : Cumulative :Percent of :-----------------------: Previous :-----------------------: Previous : 2006 : 2007 : Year : 2006 : 2007 : Year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----- Tons ---- Percent ------ Tons ----- Percent : Jan : 72 43 60 72 43 60 Feb : 27 20 74 99 63 64 Mar : 55 114 207 154 177 115 Apr : 130 110 85 284 287 101 May : 57 126 221 341 413 121 Jun : 163 122 75 504 535 106 Jul : 176 129 73 680 664 98 Aug : 232 177 76 912 841 92 Sep : 167 301 180 1,079 1,142 106 Oct 1/ : 136 85 63 1,215 1,227 101 Nov : 24 30 125 1,239 1,257 101 Dec : 31 1,270 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised 2007 data only. Reliability of Catfish Feed Deliveries Estimates Survey Procedures: All participating catfish feed mills are feed mills that produce and deliver catfish feed to bonafide catfish producers. Survey data for catfish feed are collected from feed mills by the USDA-NASS Mississippi Field Office, which is responsible for ensuring survey coverage is as complete as possible. Mills are contacted by mail, telephone, fax, or internet. Diligent effort is made to ensure that all operations are accounted for in the estimate. Estimation Procedures: The "Catfish Feed Deliveries" report refers strictly to catfish feed delivered to bonafide catfish producers and excludes catfish feed delivered to producers of other species. The totals include both bagged and bulk feed. Prior to summarization, questionnaires are compared to previous reports for comparability. Estimates are made for feed mills whose reports are not available in time to be included in the release. Those mills are identified by an asterisk on page 11 of this release. Estimates are based on the mill's previous reports and current conditions. Published totals are a straight summation of the individual reports and estimated data. If a mill uses a fiscal accounting system, proration is used to convert reported data to a calendar month basis. Two unusual features of this report are worthy of note: (1) cooperating feed mills are listed by name, and (2) it is impossible for the public to infer the amount of catfish feed produced in each State. Since many mills deliver feed to more than one State and to growers of other species, any inferences about overall production per State or per mill are not valid. Revision Policy: Revisions may be necessary in the following month's publication pending a review of late reports received from mills. Revisions to previous estimates are made to improve month to month relationships. Estimates for the previous month are subject to revision in all States and regions monthly totals. In February, all monthly estimates for the previous year are reviewed and subject to revisions. The review is primarily based on data that may have been received after the original estimates were published. Reliability: Estimates are based on data from cooperating catfish feed mills, and therefore have no sampling variability. However, estimates may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing of data. These errors are minimized through strict quality controls in the edit and summarization process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Terms and Definitions Used for Catfish Feed Deliveries Estimates Broodfish - Fish kept for egg production, including males. Broodfish produce the fertilized eggs which go to hatcheries. The most desirable size is 3 to 10 pounds or 4 to 6 years of age. Catfish Feed - For the purposes of this report catfish feed is defined as feed delivered to bonafide catfish producers. Thus, it is not the absolute total amount of feed produced or even sold by a mill. (Some catfish feed is sold to producers of other species of fish.) The definition includes medicated feed. Catfish feed is designed to float on the surface of the water. Catfish are fed this way from the moment they hatch. Therefore, they learn to go to the surface for feed. The result is a clean nutritious diet for American farm raised catfish. Catfish Feed for Foodsize Fish - Feed containing pellets larger than 1/8 of an inch. Catfish Feed for Fingerlings/Broodfish - Feed containing pellets 1/8 of an inch or smaller. Fingerlings - Fish weighing 2 to 60 pounds per 1,000 fish or 2 to 6 inches in length. Foodsize Fish - Fish being grown commercially for human consumption. Optimum sizes at harvest depend on the market but are generally no lower than 3/4 pound but near one pound. Data were compiled in cooperation with the following feed mills: Alabama Feed Mill LLC Land O Lakes Arkat Feeds Melick Aqua Feed LLC Cargill Animal Nutrition Rangen Inc. Carolina Fish Feeds Silver Cup Delta Western *Southfresh Feeds Fishbelt Feeds Inc. *Star Milling Co. Flint River Mills Inc. Topwater Feed Mill *Estimated Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch (202) 720-3570 Darin Jantzi, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section (202) 720-3570 Charles Butler - Catfish Feed Deliveries (601) 965-4575 David Colwell - Cold Storage (202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Catfish Processing, Mink (202) 690-3237 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey (202) 720-3244 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs (202) 690-8632 Toby Paterson - Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised (202) 720-0585 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. 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