By Diane La Mar

Are you lucky enough to have cold water on your farm from a spring or creek? Growing trout for market might be an option for you.
    Rainbow trout, Oncorhyncus mykiss, native to North America west of the Rockies, live in 32-68°F water, and have been introduced all across the U.S. Merritt and Dennis Van Landuyt (van-land-it) run Troutdale Farm, in Gravois Mills, MO raising rainbow trout and selling them at farmers markets and restaurants around Missouri.
    Their spring flows 2.5 million gallons a day of 57°F cold spring water. They channel this bounty through “raceways,” a hatchery building, and a U-fish-it lake, sheltering about 100,000 trout in all stages of development.
    Row crop farmers near Versailles, MO, since 1986, The Van Landuyts seized an irresistible opportunity and bought Troutdale Farm in 2002. Infrastructure had deteriorated on the trout farm begun in 1932, requiring extensive renovations of buildings and waterways. The Van Landuyts chose a pay-as-you-go plan of rebuilding in stages and sold their first processed product in 2005.

Trout aquaculture
    Raising trout begins with collecting eggs and milt, in the spawning season of October and November. The embryos are incubated in continuously flowing cold spring water. After hatching they’re transferred to waist-high troughs in the hatchery building where the small fry are fed every hour.
    After three months, the 3- to 4-inch fingerlings are graduated to outdoor raceways covered with screens. Kept together in “classes” as their nutritional needs change by size, trout take 14 months to grow from eggs to market size. The Van Landuyts purchase some stock to ensure continuously maturing fish.
    Rainbow trout are popular for their flavor and nutritional values of high protein, no carbs, and low fat with beneficial omega 3s superior to wild caught trout.

Processing
Several times a week, workers in hip boots standing in the raceways grade the fish by measuring them inside ruled sorting boxes. The 12-13 inchers are sorted into holding pens for the next day’s processing. Netted into a basket, weighed and recorded, then taken into the processing room, the market-sized trout are gutted, washed, placed on ice, filleted, then chilled with careful attention to temperature control and sanitation throughout. In the FDA-inspected processing room, three skilled workers can prepare approximately 60 fish per hour.
    After chilling, those selected for “boneless butterfly” style have the pin bones removed. Then the entire lot is weighed, bagged, priced and labeled, readied for delivery the following day. Retail prices are currently $4.35 per pound for gutted whole fish, $4.95 per pound for gutted headless and $7.05 per pound for boneless butterfly.

Markets
    Currently the Van Landuyts sell retail at the Columbia Farmers Market on Saturday mornings in Columbia, MO, and wholesale to restaurants they deliver to in Jefferson City, Columbia, and St. Louis. Currently processing about 500 trout per week, they plan to expand into the Kansas City area in conjunction with further construction of additional raceways.

Getting started
    Merritt cautions, “Before even beginning, check with your local health department both at your farm and your potential markets as regulations vary widely.” The federal FDA demands rigorous record keeping documenting continuous temperature control all the way through to delivery, in addition to the sanitation inspection mandated by the local county health department.
    Aquaculture is complicated. Begin by visiting the North Carolina Cooperative Extension web site at www.ces.ncsu.edu for their extensive “Getting Started in Aquaculture” business planning guide. Also helpful is Southern Region Aqua Culture’s web site www.srac.tamu.edu.  Find your state’s aquaculture specialist at www.marylandseafood.org/aquaculture/nasac.php.
    The Van Landuyts purchased their initial stock from Crystal Lake Fisheries, Ava, MO, www.crystallakefisheries.com, 800-621-2301, and cite Marvin Emerson, CEO/president, as their helpful mentor. He quotes prices of trout from $.12 for 1-inchers to $.63 for 8-inchers with volume discounts, not including shipping. He cautions that transportation is the “wild card” expense. The U.S. Trout Farmers Association maintains a national list of trout producers and equipment suppliers on their web site, www.ustfa.org.
    The Van Landuydts use Purina Aquamax feed in five formulas based on the size of fish, purchased through their local dealer. Purina has extensive feeding information with a dealer locator service at www.fishchow.com or 800-227-8941.

Challenges
    Trout farming is challenging, demanding consistency and attention to detail. Fish are livestock, needing to be fed and tended every day, similar to dairy farming. As with all farming, Mother Nature is your sometimes fickle partner. The beautiful valley is a nature preserve harboring abundant wildlife, including trout poaching predators — herons, kingfishers, eagles, raccoons, muskrat, and mink. Finding skilled, willing labor is another challenge, as not everyone enjoys outdoor work or cleaning fish. Developing markets and maintaining a consistent supply of product is a challenge common to every business. Trout farming’s biggest challenge is enough cold, fresh water. If you’re lucky enough to have cold water on your farm, the rewards could be very great.
    For more information about Troutdale Farm, visit the web site
www.troutdalefarm.com or phone 573-378-5565. a

Diane La Mar and her husband, Dan Kuebler, are the owners of The Salad Garden in Ashland, Missouri. She can be contacted at dianela_mar@yahoo.com.