August is National Catfish Month. Here at Heartland Catfish Company, we take pride in providing our customers with high-quality U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to enjoy during National Catfish Month and every day. There’s no better time to take you behind the scenes and show you exactly how your catfish gets from a pond to your dinner table.
At Heartland Catfish Company, every fillet on your plate started as one of the thousands of eggs in a hatchery box. We ensure the best care for our fish from the beginning so we can provide a high-quality product to our customers. We’ve worked hard with our partner farmers to create a healthy environment for our catfish, so our customers know exactly where their fish come from and how they acquire their signature mild and sweet flavor.
Where It All Starts: Eggs
Every catfish starts as one of thousands of eggs. Eggs are kept in a specialty box that mirrors the natural process of catfish development as much as possible. Male catfish typically keep the eggs moving and aerated, so we do the same in our boxes. The specialty boxes are typically kept around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature for catfish eggs to develop. Once they are fully developed, the eggs are then moved to the hatchery.
Growing Up in the Hatchery
Once at the hatchery, the “sac fry,” which are baby fish, live off the yolk from their egg. At Heartland, we also feed them a high-protein floating feed to begin training the fish to look upwards for food. This step makes a big difference between wild or imported catfish and U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. The surface-feeding habit sticks with the fish for life, and it’s the primary reason U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish has that mild, sweet flavor we’re known for.
Life in the Pond
Once the sac fry is trained, they relocate to ponds that are 10-20 acres in size, but only a few feet deep. This is where they become “fingerlings,” and they grow to be about 5-7 inches long. These freshwater ponds contain thousands of fingerlings; there can be approximately 5,000 to 10,000 fingerlings per surface acre of water. Heartland’s catfish are raised in man-made freshwater ponds that use the latest farming practices and Best Management Practices.
During their time in the ponds, the catfish continue to eat the same high-protein food mixture made of corn, soybeans, wheat, vitamins and minerals. Once they reach a weight of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, which takes about 18-24 months, the catfish are ready to be harvested.
Time for Harvest
Before any pond is ready for harvest, we make sure the flavor is up to our standards. To do this, we enforce a stringent flavor and quality test. If the pond passes, the catfish are harvested.
Heartland’s partner farmers use seines, which are weighted nets, to gather the fish and move them into aerated tanks on flatbed trucks. This allows us to move the catfish to the processing plant quickly and with the least amount of stress caused to the fish.
Inside Our Processing Facility
Once the fish arrive at our processing plant, the catfish are put into a large basket that acts as a scale. This ensures we know how many pounds of catfish are being brought into process. Each catfish is sent down the correct process line. When processed, the fish are cleaned, filleted, trimmed and packed in various forms, sizes and cuts for the customer. Depending on the customer’s order, the catfish are either put on ice or sent through a blast freezer. They are then ready to be shipped to the customer.
Heartland Catfish Company has worked closely with the USDA to help set the standard for food safety oversight in the catfish industry, and our Itta Bena, Mississippi facility is proud to serve as a showcase plant for USDA FSIS.
Delivery
From our coolers and freezers, Heartland catfish are then loaded and delivered in freezer trucks to our customers across the country. Heartland catfish are ready to be prepared by the customer from the moment it is delivered. Whether planning to fry, bake or grill the fish at home or at their restaurant, we’re proud to provide high quality U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to retail and food service customers year after year.
Looking to bring Heartland Catfish to your restaurant, market or store? Visit our Retail and Food Service pages to learn more!
The Plate
After delivery, the product is ready to be prepared as the customer desires and enjoyed by the many catfish lovers across the country. Heartland Catfish Company has dozens of catfish recipes available. Our recipe collection, which solely features U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, spans from grilled options, soups and tacos to classic southern fried catfish. View our full recipe collection to find your next favorite recipe! You can even download our free recipe book for more inspiration this Catfish Month.
Celebrate National Catfish Month with Us
Knowing the story behind your catfish means you can feel good about what’s on your plate, and that’s something worth celebrating.
Catfish Month is a celebration of community, heritage and the farmers who’ve dedicated their lives to bringing quality U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to your tables, and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of that story. Whether you’re cooking up a family favorite, discovering a new recipe or just learning more about how U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish gets from pond to plate, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating this month. From our family to yours, happy Catfish Month!
