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Was BS'ing with a buddy about starting farming crawfish...

Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:00 am
Posted by sidewalkside
rent free in yo head
Member since Sep 2021
1630 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:00 am
The OT's favorite annual topic...crawfish.

Any baws here farm Crawfish?

How many lb's is a "normal" annual harvest per acre?

Is there a minimum acreage needed?

Is it "worth it" if you don't also farm rice in the same acreage?

Other than access to water and trucking/transportaion...is there anything else crucial for acreage access?

What excuses makes crawfish faming unfeasible as a side/part time gig?
Posted by Oates Mustache
Member since Oct 2011
22057 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:02 am to
Do you have a shite ton of land? You can't farm enough with the holes you find in your backyard.
Posted by sidewalkside
rent free in yo head
Member since Sep 2021
1630 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:04 am to
quote:

Do you have a shite ton of land


Hence my question....is there a minimum acreage...
Posted by J Murdah
Member since Jun 2008
39782 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:04 am to
Weekly harvest is about 350lbs

I would recommend about 350 acres
Posted by soccerfüt
Location: A Series of Tubes
Member since May 2013
65582 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:08 am to
sidewalkside STAKKD

Crawfish Prices FUKKD
Posted by Hangit
The Green Swamp
Member since Aug 2014
39096 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:11 am to
To start with, get those 2 lb. Australian crawfish that have been spreading through Texas. A 40 lb sack doesn't need near as many.

quote:

Is it "worth it" if you don't also farm rice in the same acreage?


Why wouldn't you also farm corn and potatoes? Aint nobody putting no rice in the crawfish pot. Good luck.

ETA: Are the downvote queers raining on this post because they put rice in their crawfish pot, or they are skeert of a different product that may be superior?
This post was edited on 4/18/24 at 10:50 am
Posted by Barrister
Member since Jul 2012
4610 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:12 am to
My business partner has a crawfish farm.....he has 160 acres. He also has two duck blinds on the property. I think the biggest expense is flooding it each year.....have a good pump. The key is to have a fisherman who does all the work for a cut and you just get mailbox money.
Posted by Oilfieldbiology
Member since Nov 2016
37483 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:20 am to
Do you have any contacts/friends that buy/distribute crawfish? Because if you can’t sell them, why harvest them.

Before determining amount of land needed, figure out how much work is required to harvest, time required for them to grow, cost of any and all equipment and storage of said equipment, and that will tell you how many acres you need.
Posted by FreddieMac
Baton Rouge
Member since Jun 2010
20985 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:21 am to
I always wondered if you could setup aquaponics and do crawfish.
Posted by yellowfin
Coastal Bar
Member since May 2006
97624 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:22 am to
Start with a boat, Mexican, and about 100 acres
Posted by Limitlesstigers
Lafayette
Member since Nov 2019
2809 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:29 am to
I come from a long line of rice/crawfish farmers in Acadia parish. If it weren't for AG subsidies for their rice crop this year, a lot of them would have had to take on a lot of debt or close shop this year. One of my cousins had to spend an additional $60k this year on irrigation.

Most of them inherited their land or bought it from a family member for a lower cost. You would probably have to spend at least 500k-million on a large enough track land that has access to water and highways.
This post was edited on 4/18/24 at 8:34 am
Posted by sidewalkside
rent free in yo head
Member since Sep 2021
1630 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:07 am to
quote:

One of my cousins had to spend an additional $60k this year on irrigation.


This seems like a wild card...access/cost of flooding the ponds
Posted by dkreller
Laffy
Member since Jan 2009
30275 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:13 am to
I would imagine there’s a mafia of some sort that needs to give you their blessing before you start farming crawfish or else they might boil your ponds.
Posted by mthorn2
Planet Louisiana
Member since Sep 2007
1229 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:16 am to
A 1 acre pond will produce 1,200lbs of crawfish a year. Need clay soils. DO NOT DIG A POND! Just install 3' x 8'wide levees around the low area you want the pond located. You'll need to install an outfall weir/dam and pipe to be able to drain the pond around July or some kind of pump system.

You need to spend a year farming rice first. Once you are successful growing rice and maintaining water elevations at around 18" you are ready to dump 4 sacks of crawfish into the pond in May/June. Allow them to be in water for a month or so before slowly draining the water. Till bottom and plant rice. Allow rain to slow fill the pond (this is where a lot people lost money last year because there was no rain). Secondary option for filling pond is a good idea. Keep water around 18" for remainder of year. Start harvesting crawfish in March until you pull around 1,200lbs and stop. Leave the rest to reproduce for the follow years.

Edit: Actually the first year I'd only pull 800lbs or so...and allow the system to establish itself.
Posted by saintsfan1977
West Monroe, from Cajun country
Member since Jun 2010
7690 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:16 am to
I crawfished 80 acres in the early 2000s for side money with my buddy's dad. He told me that if I started out buying land, pumps, land work, crawfish etc, that I wouldn't recoup my money.

One good days we caught 30 sacks. Most days it was 15. But I don't know how often they stocked the ponds.
This post was edited on 4/18/24 at 9:19 am
Posted by Greenie10
Member since Apr 2019
217 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:23 am to
quote:

Most of them inherited their land or bought it from a family member for a lower cost. You would probably have to spend at least 500k-million on a large enough track land that has access to water and highways.


My cousins inherited from family. Has been in family for generations. Luckily I-10 splits right between their land. So great access to highway lol
Posted by Joe_Dirte
Southwest LA
Member since Feb 2019
641 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:32 am to
Posted by TDTOM
Member since Jan 2021
14390 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:35 am to
My buddy tried this on his family land. Bought a bunch of seed crawfish and got after it.













He never caught shite.
Posted by saintsfan1977
West Monroe, from Cajun country
Member since Jun 2010
7690 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:38 am to
quote:

Bought a bunch of seed crawfish and got after it.


Everyone I know buys sacks of crawfish to stock ponds.
Posted by saintsfan1977
West Monroe, from Cajun country
Member since Jun 2010
7690 posts
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:44 am to
quote:

Do you have any contacts/friends that buy/distribute crawfish? Because if you can’t sell them, why harvest them.



As long as you are consistent, you'll have no problem selling them. Don't be selling 30 sacks a day to them for 2 months and then suddenly selling 15 of them to your buddies. That's a good way for the buyers to tell you to get fricked.
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