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Why don't places across the US that have "crayfish" farm them in the NE, Montana, Midwest?

Posted on 8/21/23 at 4:27 am
Posted by Saunson69
Member since May 2023
2039 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 4:27 am
I was just thinking that I've seen crawfish farms as far West as rural Houston, as far East as Hattiesburg, and as far North as Shreveport. I imagine there might be one in like the Mississippi River Basin in SE Arkansas, but I don't know. I hear of and see videos of people catching what they call crayfish in like New Jersey, Montana, Kentucky and wonder why we farm them and they don't. The "crayfish" in NJ look different than the ones here. They're not red underneath. Do they just taste shittier there or are they aren't enough quantity to farm there?

Example: This is a Montana crayfish
This post was edited on 8/21/23 at 4:56 am
Posted by CHEDBALLZ
South Central LA
Member since Dec 2009
22015 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 4:48 am to
I'm pretty sure California has a few crawfish farms.
Posted by Obtuse1
Westside Bodymore Yo
Member since Sep 2016
26188 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:06 am to
quote:

I'm pretty sure California has a few crawfish farms.


They do, I think most of them are in the northern part of the state. Their season starts in July and runs into late fall.
Posted by Purple Spoon
Hoth
Member since Feb 2005
18048 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:07 am to
Keeping them alive from the cold in an agricultural setting might be the biggest challenge.
Posted by Gee Grenouille
Bogalusa
Member since Jul 2018
5066 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:15 am to
I’ve heard tales of family hauling crawfish north of the mason dixon line with boiling pot and other provisions in hand. Apparently the yanks stand in awe at the display alone. The smell drags them out of their homes on a leash. I’ve heard they ramble on about what the savage southerner has accomplished without their intervention.

Anyway it’s probably that cold weather thing the other guy was talking about.
Posted by CalcuttaTigah
Member since Jul 2009
775 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:22 am to
My in law who is a Rice farmer in El Campo said the soil composition is not the same as South La and they would burrow too deep (or not deep enough?). There are people that do it but I think the yield is much lower. This was several years ago so I may be misrepresenting what was said.
Posted by turnpiketiger
Southeast Texas
Member since May 2020
9711 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:22 am to
quote:

rural Houston


What is this
Posted by SWLA92
SWLA
Member since Feb 2015
2105 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:24 am to
Another factor in Texas is the water usage. They are regulated so heavily and beings that crawfish consumes a lot of water it’s not a good combination
Posted by Fat Harry
70115
Member since Mar 2005
2222 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:28 am to
They are really popular in Scandinavia, but they don't cook them the same. Served cold and transluscent.
Posted by redstick13
Lower Saxony
Member since Feb 2007
38730 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:36 am to
There are places in California that farm them. When I lived in Colorado I was friends with a guy who set traps in one of the local reservoirs one summer. The crawfish he caught were colored blue instead of red. Cooked up all the same. I think the issue is that the don’t reproduce fast enough to support a farming industry in cold weather climates.
Posted by Locoguan0
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Nov 2017
4458 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 5:41 am to
Friend of mine in Maryland was invited to a crawfish boil by some locals that wanted to give them a try. Bastards steamed those bugs.
Steamed them, guys.
Pfff... I need a minute.
Posted by Tigershatebama
New Orleans
Member since Feb 2006
263 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 6:08 am to
Isleton, CA Crawfish festival

Town south of Sacramento has an annual crawfish festival.

I’ve had 2 boils with their crawfish. It’s a different species. Tastes the same, but harder to peel. The tail shell is also flatter and wider.
Posted by touchdownjeebus
Member since Sep 2010
24851 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 6:39 am to
I dunno where they got them, but in the late 90s/early 2000’s the garlic festival in Gilroy California had legit boiled crawfish. Color me surprised when I tried them and they not only didn’t suck, but were good.
Posted by facher08
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2011
4484 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 6:50 am to
My dad said he had them growing up in New Jersey, but he used them as bait.
Posted by ragincajun03
Member since Nov 2007
21648 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 7:53 am to
quote:

My in law who is a Rice farmer in El Campo said the soil composition is not the same as South La and they would burrow too deep (or not deep enough?). There are people that do it but I think the yield is much lower. This was several years ago so I may be misrepresenting what was said.


I’ve heard the same from a buddy whose family is generation rice farmers around East Bernard. Something about the soil being too sandy, not enough good, sticky clay, for the crawfish to want to hold in large numbers.
Posted by HuskyPanda
Philly
Member since Feb 2018
1769 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 7:58 am to
quote:

My dad said he had them growing up in New Jersey, but he used them as bait.


Same in Pennsylvania. We used to catch them in creeks and toss them in the lakes and watch the bass eat them.
Posted by tonydtigr
Beautiful Downtown Glenn Springs,Tx
Member since Nov 2011
5171 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 8:12 am to
quote:

Isleton, CA Crawfish festival

Town south of Sacramento has an annual crawfish festival.

I’ve had 2 boils with their crawfish. It’s a different species. Tastes the same, but harder to peel. The tail shell is also flatter and wider.




I had some friends who were chefs fly up there for the festival a couple of years in a row, as guests of the town. It's reportedly a very nice gig.
Posted by CatfishJohn
Member since Jun 2020
14178 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 8:25 am to
I find crawfish in East Tennessee all the time in the creek beds and such. Always tiny little bugs. I don't think the weather is conducive to farming on a large scale.
Posted by chrome_daddy
LA (Lower Ashvegas)
Member since May 2004
2095 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 8:44 am to
Buddies brother had a crawfish farm on the eastern shore of Virginia around 2000, had a local farmer run it for him. He made bank from an offshore underwater welding accident years ago. They did well from what I understand but then his farmer retired. Crawfish were excellent, but as mentioned about the Ca ones, they were harder to peel. Used to look forward to the three hour ride over to pick up a truckload every year.
Posted by lake chuck fan
westlake
Member since Aug 2011
9551 posts
Posted on 8/21/23 at 8:50 am to
quote:

Friend of mine in Maryland was invited to a crawfish boil by some locals that wanted to give them a try. Bastards steamed those bugs.
Steamed them, guys.
Pfff... I need a minute


We tried that once. Have a few inches of water in pot with seasoning, boiled/steamed em. Wasn't bad at all. Pretty good. I rather em boiled but was surprised how good they were steamed.
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