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Non-Tech : Farming -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (39)	4/6/1999 7:21:00 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4443

"Fish farming" in Wisconsin. April 6, 1999 Fish Farming on the Rise in Wis. Filed at 1:17 a.m. EDT By The Associated Press WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin's rural landscape is dominated by corn fields, silos and dairy farms. But experts say the fastest growing sector of the agriculture industry uses tanks, ponds and nets. Sales of fish raised on Wisconsin farms are expected to grow nearly 60 percent within five years, in part because the state's tradition of Friday fish fries has created a demand for perch fillets. ''It is an industry bulging at the seams to grow. The existing farms now are not going to be able to keep up with the demand,'' said David Gallon, president of the Wisconsin Aquaculture Association. ''Five years ago, people didn't know where to sell trout in Wisconsin. Five years later, they can't produce enough.'' A decade ago, Wisconsin had about 150 fish farms. Today, the state has about 265 that produce fish for food, bait and restocking, said Bud Sholts, director of aquaculture development for the state Agriculture Department. About 35 to 40 more are being developed and should begin production within a year. Surveys suggest production will grow 11 percent in each of the next five years, Sholts said. ''You wouldn't believe the interest. I get 40 requests a month just to start up,'' he said. ''They range all the way from, 'Grandpa left me $10 million after taxes,' to entrepreneurs in other businesses to farmers that want a second profit center.'' Dr. Myron Kebus, a veterinarian who worked with the aquaculture industry in private practice before joining the state Agriculture Department, called aquaculture a ''maturing industry.'' In Wisconsin, 62 percent of the fish farms report less than $10,000 in gross sales and only 2 percent of the total sales, he said. ''There is tremendous demand, tremendous potential and there are also tremendous challenges,'' Kebus said. ''A lot of people are looking at this as an easier form of farming, and I don't know that I would say that is a reasonable statement. Fish farmers I know who are successful work very hard.'' Michael Libbin started Paragon Aquaculture near Oshkosh in 1995 and markets about 1,000 pounds of yellow perch each month to clients primarily in the Fox Valley. ''Our niche market is white-tablecloth restaurants,'' he said. ''Not everybody can afford our product, so we go to those that are a little higher end.'' Libbon said the annual demand in Wisconsin for yellow perch tops 30 million pounds. Commercially, about 10 million pounds are raised on farms or netted from the Great Lakes. Alpine Farms started in Sheboygan Falls in 1991 and raises perch and trout in a 7,000-gallon tank, said co-owner John Hyisk. There is a lot to learn in the business, he said. ''It is not, 'I am going to get a tank, fill it with water, fill it with fish and get rich.''' Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company