A few words from the Catfish King

From The Enterprise-Tocsin of Indianola, Mississippi, Thursday, March 26, 2009

Volume CXXIII No. 13

Oglesby named state's catfish farmer of year

- Indianola farmer has been involved in many key areas of the industry

by DAVID RUSHING

When Joe Oglesby of Indianola got into the catfish industry back in 1979, he said he was looking for something to do besides row crop.

Now, Oglesby, who farms 320 acres of catfish ponds just north of Boyer says he has plenty to do.

"Back then I actually used to get a winter off now and then," said Oglesby, who was recently named the 2009 Catfish Farmer of the Year for his many contributions to the industry.

Oglesby was one of four to get their state's top catfish honor at the recent Catfish Farmers of America Annual Convention and Research Symposium, in Natchez. Other recipients included: Townsend Kyser of Greensboro, Ala., as the Alabama Catfish Farmer of the Year, Dennington Moss of Lake Village as the Arkansas Catfish Farmer of the Year and Brandon Haring of Wisner, La. as the Louisiana Catfish Farmer of the Year.

Additionally, John Dillard of Leland was recognized with the CFA Lifetime Achievement Award for his many contributions to the industry.

Oglesby wears many hats in connection with catfish production. Besides his pond interest, he is a founder and current president of Fishbelt Feeds and chairman of the Catfish Farmers of Mississippi and also a member of the board of directors of the Catfish Farmers of America and The Catfish Institute. Her also has served as chairman of the Delta Council Aquaculture Committee and as a member of the Delta Pride Board of Directors.

Oglesby said that times are tough for the industry as a whole due to a variety of reasons, including fluctuating fuel and feed pprices. The lastest twist has been increasing competition by Asian grown catfish, particularly from China.

"We have sort of beat back the problem with the Vietnamese fish," said Oglesby. "Now we are competing with the Chinese."

Unlike the Vietnamese who were passing off another species as catfish, the Chinese are another matter.

"They are selling the exact same product we are using. Stock they got from us." He said. This makes recently passed legislation requiring that food establishments label the origin of their fish important.

But such measures alone are not the answer, which he said must come from the producers themselves to have to be at the ponds themselves.

"We know that in the long term the price of feed is going to remain high, so we are just going to have to be more efficient," Oglesby said.

He said that because of the tough times facing the industry as a whole, farmers are going to find it harder to rely on their past ability to allow the good years to balance out the bad years.

"The good has carried us over the bad and the bad markets were generally short," Oglesby said. "But this is the longest bad I have ever seen."