HEARTLAND CATFISH
Humble Beginnings
Heartland Catfish Company Is Founded on Family
Heartland Catfish Company was founded in 1996 by William Tackett, his son, Jim Tackett and son-in-law, Joe Walker. The foundation for the company’s success was built decades earlier, when 6-year-old William Tackett began working for one penny per day. Over time, William developed a work ethic, dedication, integrity, determination and set of Christian principles that would guide the growth and success of the largest vertically integrated entity in the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry.
Mr. Tackett and his wife, Marue, began farming in 1948 in Arkansas. In 1964, the family moved to Belzoni in the Mississippi Delta to farm rice, soybeans and cotton, and in 1968 Mr. Tackett built his first catfish pond in Humphreys County. The years that followed brought moves to Leflore County and Sunflower County, where the family continued farming row crops, built additional catfish ponds and started a catfish hatchery with brooder and fingerling operations. That farming operation, known as Tackett Fish Farms, eventually grew to some 9,300 water acres, making it the single largest catfish operation in the world at the time.
From Farm to Processor
As Tackett Fish Farms’ production grew, transporting the vast quantities of fish to farmer-owned cooperative processors in the area became increasingly difficult. Mr. Tackett and the Tackett family launched plans to process their own fish, and in 1996 Heartland Catfish Company was founded on Highway 82 in Itta Bena, Mississippi. Because of the business and personal principles Mr. Tackett established, the company grew rapidly, doubling its processing operation in 2000 and adding a second processing facility in Greensboro, Alabama, in 2008.
Today, Tackett Fish Farms continues to supply Heartland Catfish Company as part of its vertically integrated operation, connecting the company’s processing capabilities directly back to the farm where its story began.
Mr. Tackett continued to work daily in the farming and processing aspects of the business until his passing in 2012. It was common to see him, even at 87 years old, driving a bulldozer or motor grader, working on a levee or feeding fish from his one-ton feed truck. He also regularly attended the Board of Directors meetings that oversaw Heartland Catfish Company operations.
Leadership and Legacy
Over the course of his career, Mr. Tackett served on the Board of Directors of Delta Pride Catfish, Delta Western Feed Mill, Catfish Farmers of America, Catfish Farmers of Mississippi and The Catfish Institute. He received numerous industry honors, including the 1989 Catfish Farmers of America Outstanding Farmer award, the 1992 Delta Council Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Aquaculture, the 2000 Lancaster/Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award and the 2006 Catfish Farmers of America Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Tackett left behind a legacy of honor, integrity, frugality, determination, hard work and Christian principles. Heartland Catfish Company was founded on this legacy and continues to uphold the standards set by its founder.
Committed to Quality,
Then and Now
Heartland Catfish Company is committed to supplying customers with the highest quality U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish products, backed by outstanding customer service and the best value. That commitment is reflected in strict quality standards, state-of-the-art processing facilities and an experienced team, all built on the foundation William Tackett laid more than 75 years ago.
Heartland Catfish
History
Mid 1970s to mid 1990s
William Tackett, his son, Jim Tackett and his son-in-law, Joe Walker, began farming catfish in the Schlater, Mississippi area. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, their operation, known as Tackett Fish Farms, grew to be some 9,300 water acres of catfish production, making it the single largest catfish operation in the world. As Tackett Fish Farms sold its production to various cooperative processing plants over the years, the family began to consider operating their own processing plant.
1996
After several months of planning and construction, the Tacketts opened Heartland Catfish Company, a 34,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art, catfish processing plant located on Highway 82 in Itta Bena, MS. This location put the plant right on the major regional highway, with most of the catfish production farms nearby. This new plant utilized the best available fish-processing equipment, along with the latest technology for grading product and monitoring process flow. Heartland Catfish Company’s fundamental goal was to provide the freshest, highest quality catfish products more efficiently than anyone else in the industry. In its first year of operation, Heartland Catfish Company processed 12 million pounds of live catfish.
1999
Due to the company’s success and the overall growth of the U.S. Catfish Industry, Heartland Catfish Company expanded operations by adding 22,000 square feet, increasing freezer storage, an employee breakroom area, maintenance shop area and the main office. These enhancements permitted the plant to process 34 million pounds of live catfish per year.
2001
Once again, due to the company’s success and industry growth, Heartland Catfish Company designed and constructed a completely new plant connected to the original facility. This new 78,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art plant utilized the latest in technology for every aspect of the process, from filleting, trimming and grading the fish to freezing, packing, handling and storing the product. The addition also included a new breakroom/cafeteria, new production offices and a new holding freezer. With the new plant operational, Heartland Catfish Company added 41 million pounds of capacity, bringing the total capacity to 75 million pounds of live catfish per year.
2008
Due to an ever-increasing supply of live catfish in East Mississippi and West Alabama, Heartland Catfish Company purchased the Southern Pride Catfish plant in Greensboro, AL, from American Seafood Group. Immediately, the company began processing fish from the local area in the Greensboro plant and working to implement the same state-of-the-art equipment and processes at work in the Mississippi plant. The addition of the Alabama plant brought Heartland Catfish Company’s total capacity to 110 million pounds of live catfish per year.
2010
Heartland Catfish Company completely reworked the main processing area in the Alabama plant to install the latest process-flow equipment and upgraded kill and filleting equipment. These updates included adding live fish grading systems, chill water tanks for live fish and fillets, automated grading consoles, automated sorting and packing lines and new retail bagging equipment. In addition to the processing equipment, Heartland Catfish Company’s Alabama plant also added an ozone generator, which injects ozone into the water used for facility sanitation and minimizes the use of chemicals and gas-heated water. This modernization and efficiency upgrade in the Alabama plant brought the total capacity to 115 million pounds of live catfish per year.
2020
To increase efficiency and improve customer service, Heartland Catfish Company consolidated all processing and packaging operations under one roof at the Itta Bena facility in January 2020. The addition of more than 25,000 square feet of processing and freezer space further increased the company’s industry-leading capacity.
2021
Heartland Catfish Company celebrated 25 years as the largest vertically integrated catfish processor in the country. During its first 25 years, Heartland Catfish supplied thousands of jobs to the state of Mississippi and delivered high-quality, on-flavor U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to retailers and customers. Through the legacy of William Tackett, the principles of hard work and high standards, Heartland Catfish Company has continued to uphold the main foundations of its company: integrity, frugality, determination and Christian principles.
2026
Over the course of three decades, what began as a single catfish pond has grown into the largest vertically integrated catfish processor in the country. Built on the principles of honor, integrity and hard work instilled by founder William Tackett, Heartland Catfish Company has spent 30 years crafting a legacy of trust as a premier U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish provider. The flavor and quality of Heartland Catfish products continue to bring families together around the table to share a meal, a tradition the company will continue for generations to come.
