HDR1012000170120429971500Catfish Production Released April 29, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Production" call Dan Boostrom at (202) 720-3244, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Foodsize Inventory Up 30 Percent Commercial catfish operations in the four major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) had 181 million foodsize fish on hand on April 1, 1997, up 30 percent from April 1, 1996. Live weight totaled 221 million pounds for all foodsize fish, 33 percent above April 1 a year ago. The breakout of foodsize fish on April 1, 1997 with percent changes from the previous year are: large foodsize, at 3.33 million, up 7 percent; medium foodsize, at 38.5 million, up 28 percent; and small foodsize, at 140 million, up 32 percent. The four major States also had 1.28 million broodfish on hand on April 1, 1997, up 10 percent from last year's 1.17 million. Live weight totaled 5.80 million pounds for broodfish, 4 percent above April 1, 1996. The number of stockers on hand on April 1, 1997 totaled 640 million fish, up 4 percent from the 616 million fish on hand a year ago. Of the total number of stockers on hand, 314 million were large stockers, up 12 percent from the previous year. The remaining 326 million were small stockers, down 2 percent. Live weight totaled 164 million pounds for all stockers, 10 percent above April 1 last year. Producers had 803 million fingerlings on hand on April 1, 1997, up 7 percent from the 749 million fingerlings on hand April 1, 1996. Live weight, however, at 22.6 million pounds, increased 2 percent from the 22.1 million pounds a year ago. Revisions: Revisions to estimates of total sales and number, weight, value of sales, and average value per pound of foodsize catfish published in the February issue of "Catfish Production" are shown on page 5 of this report. Aq 2 (4-97) Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Broodfish by State, April 1, 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 -------- ----- 1,000 Pounds ---- : AL : 103 168 557 774 AR : 200 235 915 955 LA : 90 105 430 560 MS : 779 776 3,695 3,511 : Total : 1,172 1,284 5,597 5,800 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Foodsize Fish by Size, State, and Total, April 1, 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------- 1,000 --------- ------ 1,000 Pounds ----- : : Large 1/ AL : 826 574 2,893 1,912 AR : 550 640 1,920 2,180 LA : 370 760 1,250 2,450 MS : 1,371 1,361 4,802 4,673 : Total : 3,117 3,335 10,865 11,215 : : Medium 2/ : AL : 4,416 9,041 7,690 17,887 AR : 5,690 5,170 9,960 9,670 LA : 2,750 6,250 5,050 13,750 MS : 17,152 17,990 31,295 32,322 : Total : 30,008 38,451 53,995 73,629 : : Small 3/ : AL : 18,298 22,979 16,499 24,533 AR : 14,390 21,480 14,110 21,120 LA : 10,600 11,450 9,850 12,900 MS : 62,884 83,712 60,795 77,860 : Total : 106,172 139,621 101,254 136,413 : : Total : AL : 23,540 32,594 27,082 44,332 AR : 20,630 27,290 25,990 32,970 LA : 13,720 18,460 16,150 29,100 MS : 81,407 103,063 96,892 114,855 : Total : 139,297 181,407 166,114 221,257 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Over 3 lbs. 2/ Over 1 1/2 lbs to 3 lbs. 3/ Over 3/4 lbs to 1 1/2 lbs. Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Stockers by Size, State, and Total, April 1, 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------- 1,000 --------- ------ 1,000 Pounds ----- : : Large 1/ AL : 29,617 19,986 13,149 10,951 AR : 26,050 30,180 10,760 15,030 LA : 6,400 31,350 2,700 14,300 MS : 219,774 232,908 91,449 90,065 : Total : 281,841 314,424 118,058 130,346 : : Small 2/ : AL : 28,096 25,344 2,373 2,452 AR : 43,720 50,420 4,265 5,940 LA : 55,600 24,250 4,800 2,470 MS : 206,778 226,488 20,073 22,962 : Total : 334,194 326,502 31,511 33,824 : : Total : AL : 57,713 45,330 15,522 13,403 AR : 69,770 80,600 15,025 20,970 LA : 62,000 55,600 7,500 16,770 MS : 426,552 459,396 111,522 113,027 : Total : 616,035 640,926 149,569 164,170 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Over 180 lbs/1000 to 750 lbs/1,000. 2/ Over 60 lbs/1000 to 180 lbs/1,000. Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Fingerlings by State, April 1, 1996-97 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------- 1,000 --------- ----- 1,000 Pounds ----- : AL : 53,934 47,967 1,697 1,902 AR : 114,800 115,410 3,990 4,040 LA : 49,000 30,350 2,100 1,120 MS : 531,528 609,579 14,305 15,505 : Total : 749,262 803,306 22,092 22,567 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Over 2 lbs/1000 to 60 lbs/1000. Catfish: Number Stocked in Growout Ponds During Previous Quarter by Size Group and State, January-March 1996-97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jan : Feb : Mar State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : : Large Stockers : MS : 1,662 1,816 1,508 2,173 8,304 4,094 : Total 1/: 4,597 3,973 2,706 2,268 11,336 5,020 : : Small Stockers : MS : 2,011 2,501 2,199 9,252 6,838 13,164 : Total 1/: 7,069 9,480 5,188 10,512 18,453 18,610 : : Fingerlings : MS : 5,585 * 14,696 9,013 44,483 32,273 : Total 1/: 19,409 18,877 31,420 19,460 66,577 58,363 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Not published separately to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Includes AL, AR, LA, and MS. Revisions: Revisions to estimates of total sales and number, weight, value of sales, and average value per pound of foodsize catfish published in the February issue of "Catfish Production" are shown on this page. Catfish: Number of Operations and Water Surface Acres, Used for Production, 1996-97 and Total Sales, 1995-96, by State -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of : Water Surface Acres : : Operations : Used for Production : Total Sales State : on Jan 1 :During Jan 1 - Jun 30 : :------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1995 : 1996 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----- Number ---- ------ Acres ------ 1,000 Dollars : AL : 250 245 19,600 21,000 50,909 52,795 AR : 190 180 23,000 28,500 41,034 52,214 CA : 34 33 2,180 2,300 6,703 6,502 FL : 17 12 240 100 280 148 KY : 28 20 290 280 717 517 LA : 105 108 13,700 14,300 18,862 27,273 MS : 337 360 99,000 102,000 271,875 274,559 MO : 70 65 2,400 2,400 2,924 1,746 NC : 53 60 1,400 1,400 1,993 2,466 OK : 45 35 700 550 362 376 SC : 25 25 1,200 1,200 1,770 3,223 TN : 19 19 290 290 332 284 TX : 92 74 2,200 1,900 876 936 : Oth Sts 2/ : 63 66 1,140 1,140 905 1,408 : Total : 1,328 1,302 167,340 177,360 399,542 424,447 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ Includes GA and KS. Catfish: Number, Weight, and Value of Sales of All Foodsize by State, 1995-96 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Pounds : Value : Avg Value State : Sold : Sold : of Sales : per Pound :-------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 : 1995 : 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :------------- 1,000 ------------- 1,000 Dollars -- Dollars -- : AL 1/ : 50,021 43,038 68,067 72,692 49,284 51,611 .72 .71 AR : 28,000 40,352 46,700 57,680 36,500 44,088 .78 .76 CA : 1,850 1,577 3,550 3,483 6,330 6,229 1.78 1.79 FL : 55 7 100 14 135 6 1.35 .43 KY : 290 244 540 495 690 505 1.28 1.02 LA : 16,000 19,410 23,000 29,500 18,150 20,949 .79 .71 MS :220,521 258,883 330,961 344,480 259,537 265,250 .78 .77 MO : 1,265 711 2,561 1,388 2,153 1,030 .84 .74 NC : 1,375 1,611 2,315 2,802 1,837 2,213 .79 .79 OK : 247 138 264 215 231 200 .88 .93 SC : 1,277 1,986 2,078 2,898 1,600 2,733 .77 .94 TN : 72 92 191 123 221 223 1.16 1.81 TX : 355 395 566 689 721 685 1.27 .99 : Oth Sts 2/ : 485 935 610 1,050 695 1,185 1.14 1.13 : Total 1/ :321,813 369,379 481,503 517,509 378,084 396,907 .79 .77 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ 1996 Revised. 2/ Includes GA and KS. Catfish: Round Weight Processed by Month, United States, 1990-Current -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : May : Jun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds : 1990 : 33,066 31,884 33,120 30,980 31,542 28,967 1991 : 32,206 33,036 35,951 31,205 31,322 31,588 1992 : 36,200 39,228 45,048 41,177 39,111 36,813 1993 : 40,327 40,277 43,521 39,920 37,030 35,496 1994 : 36,714 35,035 40,446 34,494 34,163 34,595 1995 : 38,807 38,515 42,200 36,588 37,030 36,047 1996 : 38,475 38,004 46,376 38,557 39,517 36,752 1997 : 42,409 45,067 48,431 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Aug : Sep : Oct : Nov : Dec : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds : 1990 : 29,540 31,108 27,566 29,211 27,913 25,538 360,435 1991 : 32,720 32,912 33,244 35,400 31,114 30,172 390,870 1992 : 36,128 37,958 37,857 39,212 35,073 33,562 457,367 1993 : 37,086 37,706 37,072 39,472 36,557 34,549 459,013 1994 : 35,901 39,813 38,716 39,072 36,054 34,266 439,269 1995 : 35,800 38,827 37,634 39,456 34,119 31,863 446,886 1996 : 39,025 40,463 38,807 42,070 37,203 36,874 472,123 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Prices Paid To Producers by Month, United States, 1990-Current 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : May : Jun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound : 1990 : .72 .74 .78 .78 .78 .78 1991 : .69 .69 .69 .69 .66 .65 1992 : .53 .56 .60 .63 .63 .61 1993 : .63 .67 .70 .71 .72 .72 1994 : .74 .77 .79 .80 .80 .80 1995 : .78 .79 .79 .79 .79 .79 1996 : .77 .78 .78 .78 .79 .79 1997 : .73 .73 .73 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Aug : Sep : Oct : Nov : Dec :Ann. Avg. :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound : 1990 : .76 .76 .76 .76 .75 .72 .758 1991 : .63 .60 .59 .58 .57 .53 .631 1992 : .59 .58 .59 .61 .62 .63 .598 1993 : .72 .73 .73 .73 .73 .73 .709 1994 : .80 .80 .80 .77 .77 .77 .784 1995 : .79 .79 .78 .78 .78 .78 .786 1996 : .79 .78 .77 .76 .75 .73 .773 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Price of fish delivered to processing plant door. Price includes charges for any services provided by the processing plant, but does not include any adjustments based on year-end settlements. Catfish Production Estimates Survey Procedures: About 900 operators were contacted during the first half of April by mail, telephone, and personal face-to-face interview, and 84 percent provided a usable report. An attempt was made to contact all known catfish producers during this time. States use every available source of producer names to make their list as complete as possible. Great care is exercised to ensure that all operations are accounted for in the estimates. Estimation Procedures: Sound statistical methodology is employed to derive the estimates from reported data. All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. Reliability: Catfish production estimates are based on a census of all known active producers and, therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing of the 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. Revision policy: Estimates for the previous year are subject to revision when current estimates are made. Revisions are the result of late or corrected data. Definitions Used for Catfish Production: 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. Large Foodsize - Fish weighing over 3 pounds. Medium Foodsize - Fish weighing over one and one-half pounds to 3 pounds. Small Foodsize - Fish weighing over three-fourths pound to one and one-half pounds. Large Stockers - Fish weighing over 180 pounds to 750 pounds per 1,000 fish. Small Stockers - Fish weighing over 60 pounds to 180 pounds per 1,000 fish. Fingerlings/Fry - Fish weighing 60 pounds per 1,000 fish and less. The next "Catfish Production" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on July 30, 1997. 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