Dairy Farmer's Silos Now Filled With Fish

2007 - Volume #31, Issue #4, Page #06

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When Richard Hein, Athens, Wis., quit milking cows, he didn't get rid of his silos. He just changed what he put in them. His Harvestore silo, broken down into sections, now holds fish instead of dry corn.

"I raise the fish in 50 to 60 mostly 1/2-acre ponds, but when it's time to deliver them I put them in the tanks," says Hein.

His fish ponds are sloped from 2 ft. deep at one end to 8 ft. deep at the other. Most are 60 ft. by 360 ft. in size, although a few are up to two acres. Each one is filled with surface runoff water directed to them by berms or pumped in from collection ditches. Each pond has a drain, so water levels can be lowered to concentrate fish in the deep end for netting and removal.

His eight Harvestore storage tanks are 14 ft. in diameter and 3 ft. deep.

"I poured four inches of cement inside each tank and installed a drain and an overflow pipe to maintain water levels," says Hein. "With the fish waste, they are self sealing."

Hein raises a variety of game fish found in lakes and rivers in Wisconsin, including minnows, perch, bluegill, crappie, smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye and catfish. Some, like the minnows, walleye and catfish, are purchased for resale. He will buy 6 to 8-in. walleye, feed them up and resell. The others are bred and raised on site.

He started the business as a sideline to dairy cows, digging out two ponds and stocking them. Gradually he grew the business, adding ponds until he felt he could sell the cows and farm fish full-time.

"I sell all my fish to private buyers to put in their ponds," he says. "It took a year or two before the business started growing. Now it's pretty hard to get enough fish."

Many people like to stock their ponds in the spring when the ice goes out. Hein's other big season is October when temperatures have cooled down. Transferring the fish when it's cool reduces stress and disease. It's during sales seasons that he moves fish out of the ponds and into the Harvestore tanks for easy access and handling.

Most of the fish he sells are in the 4 to 9-in. range, depending on species, but some are larger. Most are sold in lots of 200 to 2,000. An 8-in. bass can bring $2.50, depending on supply and demand. If Hein has excess, the price drops. If demand exceeds supply, the price rises. The bigger the fish, the more it costs.

"Some people want big mature bass and 15 to 16-in. walleye," he says. "I'll even let people come in and fish æem out and take home the ones they want."

Hein maintains ponds with breeding stock of perch, crappies and bass. He removes the eggs or, in the case of bass, the young fry and raises them in separate ponds away from the large fish that would eat them.

As much as possible, Hein prefers to go with natural production methods. While intensive operations might shoot for 100,000 perch in a 1/2-acre pond, he opts for fewer fish and more ponds.

"I like to see 2,000 to 3,000 bass in 1/2 acre," he says.

While he does a little supplemental feeding, he relies mostly on pond life to feed his fish. While intensive pond or tank production might be faster in terms of gain, he says it also requires more labor and constant testing of nitrates and oxygen levels. Mistakes are easy and unforgiving.

"They say if you haven't killed a million fish, you're not a fish farmer," he says. "It's nothing to kill a whole pond of fish. You just have to learn from your mistakes."

Hein has also learned about predators. Fish farmers have to deal with herons and even otters. He hangs moving objects in the air over and around ponds to scare them away. Simply being around the ponds every day keeps many predators away. Hein's aeration windmills, which he builds for his own use and for sale, help too.

"I have 21 windmills spinning around the ponds," he explains. "They seem to keep predators away as well as anything."

Hein sells the aeration windmills for $1,300 to $1,400 installed. "I build about 50 a year," he says. "Like the fish, I don't advertise. I just sell them by word of mouth."

Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hein's Fish Farm, 2363 County A, Athens, Wis. 54411 (ph 715 654-5108).

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Dairy Farmer s Silos Now Filled With Fish CROP STORAGE Silos 50 When Richard Hein Athens Wis quit milking cows he didn t get rid of his silos He just changed what he put in them His Harvestore silo broken down into sections now holds fish instead of dry corn
I raise the fish in 50 to 60 mostly 1/2-acre ponds but when it s time to deliver them I put them in the tanks says Hein
His fish ponds are sloped from 2 ft deep at one end to 8 ft deep at the other Most are 60 ft by 360 ft in size although a few are up to two acres Each one is filled with surface runoff water directed to them by berms or pumped in from collection ditches Each pond has a drain so water levels can be lowered to concentrate fish in the deep end for netting and removal
His eight Harvestore storage tanks are 14 ft in diameter and 3 ft deep
I poured four inches of cement inside each tank and installed a drain and an overflow pipe to maintain water levels says Hein With the fish waste they are self sealing
Hein raises a variety of game fish found in lakes and rivers in Wisconsin including minnows perch bluegill crappie smallmouth and largemouth bass walleye and catfish Some like the minnows walleye and catfish are purchased for resale He will buy 6 to 8-in walleye feed them up and resell The others are bred and raised on site
He started the business as a sideline to dairy cows digging out two ponds and stocking them Gradually he grew the business adding ponds until he felt he could sell the cows and farm fish full-time
I sell all my fish to private buyers to put in their ponds he says It took a year or two before the business started growing Now it s pretty hard to get enough fish
Many people like to stock their ponds in the spring when the ice goes out Hein s other big season is October when temperatures have cooled down Transferring the fish when it s cool reduces stress and disease It s during sales seasons that he moves fish out of the ponds and into the Harvestore tanks for easy access and handling
Most of the fish he sells are in the 4 to 9-in range depending on species but some are larger Most are sold in lots of 200 to 2 000 An 8-in bass can bring $2 50 depending on supply and demand If Hein has excess the price drops If demand exceeds supply the price rises The bigger the fish the more it costs
Some people want big mature bass and 15 to 16-in walleye he says I ll even let people come in and fish æem out and take home the ones they want
Hein maintains ponds with breeding stock of perch crappies and bass He removes the eggs or in the case of bass the young fry and raises them in separate ponds away from the large fish that would eat them
As much as possible Hein prefers to go with natural production methods While intensive operations might shoot for 100 000 perch in a 1/2-acre pond he opts for fewer fish and more ponds
I like to see 2 000 to 3 000 bass in 1/2 acre he says
While he does a little supplemental feeding he relies mostly on pond life to feed his fish While intensive pond or tank production might be faster in terms of gain he says it also requires more labor and constant testing of nitrates and oxygen levels Mistakes are easy and unforgiving
They say if you haven t killed a million fish you re not a fish farmer he says It s nothing to kill a whole pond of fish You just have to learn from your mistakes
Hein has also learned about predators Fish farmers have to deal with herons and even otters He hangs moving objects in the air over and around ponds to scare them away Simply being around the ponds every day keeps many predators away Hein s aeration windmills which he builds for his own use and for sale help too
I have 21 windmills spinning around the ponds he explains They seem to keep predators away as well as anything
Hein sells the aeration windmills for $1 300 to $1 400 installed I build about 50 a year he says Like the fish I don t advertise I just sell them by word of mouth
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Hein s Fish Farm 2363 County A Athens Wis 54411 ph 715 654-5108

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