USDA Surveying Catfish Operations

Baton Rouge, LA – In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey catfish operations nationwide to provide an up-to-date measure of U.S. catfish inventories, sales, and water acreage used for production.

“NASS surveys catfish producers in January to create an accurate estimate of catfish inventories and sales in Louisiana and the Nation,” said Kathy Broussard, State Statistician, Louisiana State Office, Delta Region. In Louisiana, NASS will survey approximately 10 catfish farmers in January asking them to provide the total water area and inventory breakdown of its usage into subcategories (broodfish, foodsize, and fingerlings), as well as sales for 2021. “With the number of Louisiana catfish farmers being surveyed, it is critical we get responses from everyone to ensure a true measure of the industry’s footprint in the state”, Broussard said.

Producers are asked to use their unique survey code to complete the catfish survey online via NASS’ secure website. The online questionnaire is user friendly, accessible on most electronic devices, and saves producers valuable time by calculating totals and automatically skipping questions that don’t apply to their operations. NASS also offers the option of responding via telephone interview with a local NASDA representative or mail.

The Catfish Production report will be released on February 8, 2022 at 3:00 pm ET. This and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications. For more information, call the NASS Delta Regional Office at (800) 327-2970.