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Started By
Message
Was BS'ing with a buddy about starting farming crawfish...
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:00 am
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?
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?
22
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:02 am to sidewalkside
Do you have a shite ton of land? You can't farm enough with the holes you find in your backyard.
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:04 am to sidewalkside
Weekly harvest is about 350lbs
I would recommend about 350 acres
I would recommend about 350 acres
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:08 am to sidewalkside
sidewalkside STAKKD
Crawfish Prices FUKKD
Crawfish Prices FUKKD
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:11 am to sidewalkside
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.
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?
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 on 4/18/24 at 8:12 am to sidewalkside
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 on 4/18/24 at 8:20 am to sidewalkside
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.
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 on 4/18/24 at 8:22 am to sidewalkside
Start with a boat, Mexican, and about 100 acres
Posted on 4/18/24 at 8:29 am to sidewalkside
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.
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 on 4/18/24 at 9:13 am to sidewalkside
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 on 4/18/24 at 9:16 am to sidewalkside
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.
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 on 4/18/24 at 9:32 am to sidewalkside
Posted on 4/18/24 at 9:52 am to sidewalkside
The poster deltaland is a crawfish farmer I believe. He’ll probably be in here shortly
Posted on 4/18/24 at 10:19 am to sidewalkside
My brother dug a small crawfish pond on his property. For private use only. He gets a few sacks a year out of it.
Posted on 4/18/24 at 10:26 am to sidewalkside
Posted on 4/18/24 at 11:13 am to sidewalkside
If it was easy, why would prices be high? If it was cheap, why would prices be high?
Posted on 4/18/24 at 11:55 am to sidewalkside
My cousin made a 1 1/2 acre pond and takes, on average about 5 sacks off it a week. He makes a few dollars selling to family and friends. He got with the LSU ag center to get it started.
Posted on 4/18/24 at 12:28 pm to sidewalkside
You will soon get a visit from some gentlemen from Belle River.
Your new name is Bait.
Your new name is Bait.
Posted on 4/18/24 at 12:49 pm to sidewalkside
Call up the LSU AG center, they will be able to help you figure out how to get started and can even help you with the business side of things. One of my buddies is getting is Ag Econ Doctorate there and he goes out to farms all the time to help farmers figure out the business side of things.
Posted on 4/18/24 at 12:54 pm to sidewalkside
My dad had a 35 acre pond with 500-600 traps back in the late 90's early 2000's. During Holy week we would catch between 700-1000# on the Tuesday and around 400-600# the next 3 days.
There is a lot to get started. Once you have a pond with levees, you need to be able to pump water in and out. Cages aren't cheap. You can make your own but that takes a lot of time. Back then we used to buy bags of bait for around 7 dollars for 50#, now it is around 26 dollars. It took us 3 bags to bait all of our cages. We also used shad for bait. We never planted rice, the pond was in an old cow pasture and the "Pifeen" (don't know what it is really called) grass would grow when we would dry. It is great feed for the crawfish.
There is a lot to get started. Once you have a pond with levees, you need to be able to pump water in and out. Cages aren't cheap. You can make your own but that takes a lot of time. Back then we used to buy bags of bait for around 7 dollars for 50#, now it is around 26 dollars. It took us 3 bags to bait all of our cages. We also used shad for bait. We never planted rice, the pond was in an old cow pasture and the "Pifeen" (don't know what it is really called) grass would grow when we would dry. It is great feed for the crawfish.
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