On a Catfish Farm in Western Kentucky

by Angela Hatton

This week, I visited a catfish farm in Calloway County for a story. It’s the off-season right now, so things are pretty dull. However, in a few weeks harvesters are going to be out in the water every week  until the middle of October.  Ag Extension Aquaculture Specialist Forrest Wynne was one of my guides on the farm, and he provided me with some pictures he’s taken of past harvests. Click on the image to get a better view, and enjoy!

A tractor hauls a spool holding a seine net. The 700 foot net traps the larger catfish, so farmers don't harvest a batch that's too small.

 

Workers get wet as a manager keeps track of the harvest on his clipboard.

 

Catfish is gathered from inside the seine net. A man-made catfish pond is about five acres in size, and between four and five feet deep.

 

Aerator paddles churn water to keep the pond oxygenated. In the summer, the paddles run on a timer. They click on at night in order to save money through off-peak electricity.

morning cram (front page go! edition)

KY~ More jobs are coming to Princeton’s cracker factory. An ambulance worker claims he didn’t steal/use drugs on the job. The Bible literacy bill glides through senate and abortion-ultrasound legislation FAILS. Stumbo suggests more construction job spending. Trey plays dirty with Rand attack ads.

TN~ Senate passes low-income energy assistance bill.

IL~ Dems want no more hat tricks in drawing election districts.

SPORTS~ Women’s = APSU < EIU, UTM > EKU, MSU < Morehead. Men’s = APSU < EIU, UTM < EKU, MSU < Morehead = (