Introduction to Crawfish Economics

1
Introduction to Crawfish Economics

• Matt Parker
• NCDA CS
• Aquaculture Business Specialist

2
Assumptions

• Land is already owned
• Fixed costs NOT included
• Initial stocking density of 75 lbs crawfish/acre
• Harvest of 650 lbs/acre
• Zero sales first year
• Sales price of 2.50/lb
• Each pond is 10 acres
• 20 traps/acre

3
Initial Investment
4
First Year of Operation
5
Years 2 and Beyond
6
Years 2 and Beyond
7
Crawfish Summary

• Economies of scale
• Larger farms are more profitable
• Need to have enough money to operate the first
  year with zero income from crawfish
• Can be very profitable as supplemental income
• Where are you going to sell them?
• Fixed cost can triple production costs

8
Further Assistance and Information

• NCDA CS Publications and Staff
• http//www.ncagr.com/aquacult/pubs.html
• Matt Parker
• NC Cooperative Extension Service
• Mike Frinsko and Steve Gabel
• Other Farmers
• Aquanic
• http//www.aquanic.org