Whole-Farm Economic Analysis of Fingerling, Stocker, and Growout Production of Catfish
Carole Engle and David Bouras

A multi-stage mixed integer-programming model was developed to assess the economic trade-offs associated with stocking fingerlings and stockers of varying sizes on channel catfish farms.  Alternative production activities included fingerling production at several densities with and without thinning, production of stockers at various densities and with different sizes at stocking.  Foodfish alternatives included several sizes of understocked fingerlings and single-batch growout of various sizes of stockers.  Stocking 5-inch fingerlings into final growout was consistently selected as the most profitable strategy across all farm sizes.  While some farms have experimented with a three-phase system that includes a stocker phase of production, this analysis indicated that multiple-batch production with 12.7-cm understocked fingerlings maximized profits on catfish farms. 

Factors that Influence Frequency of Purchase of Catfish by U.S. Households in Selected Cities
Ganesh Kumar, Kwamena Quagrainie, and Carole Engle

An ordered probit model was developed to examine the variables influencing frequency of catfish purchase. Respondents who preferred fresh catfish had a greater likelihood of frequent catfish purchase while buyers of frozen catfish were less likely to purchase catfish frequently. Method of preparation and serving had no influence on catfish purchase frequency. Buyers purchasing from supermarket outlets had a higher probability of being more frequent buyers of catfish products than those who purchased from other market outlets. Product origin labels and vacuum-sealed packaging influenced the frequency of catfish purchase. Caucasians and African Americans were found to be more frequent buyers of catfish products while Hispanics were found to be significantly less frequent buyers of catfish products. Married couples had a greater likelihood of purchasing catfish more frequently than unmarried couples. Age of the respondents as well as number of household members had no significant effect on frequency of catfish purchase. The results from this study support the importance of country of origin labeling, supplying high-quality fresh products, and alternative packaging to enhance sales of U.S. farm-raised catfish in supermarkets. 

Breakeven Price of Hybrid Fingerlings
Carole Engle and Ganesh Kumar

 Breakeven prices (above total costs of production) of the cost/inch of fingerlings were determined for both hybrid and NWAC -103 channel catfish fingerlings with data from a wide range of experimental and commercial pond data and the differences calculated.  The mean (± SD) breakeven price of hybrid catfish production (as compared to NWAC -103 channel catfish) was $0.0189 ± 0.0133/inch.