Wisconsin Farmers Raising Atlantic Salmon

Wisconsin Farmers Raising Atlantic Salmon LIVESTOCK Exotic Animals Kent Nelson and his wife Kristen are intent on succeeding as a “first of its kind” Atlantic Salmon fishery in the central U S The Nelson’s farm is located a mile east of the Mississippi at the outlet of a fresh-water spring near Eastman Wis “We bought the land and ponds in 1990 and it took us 2 years to clear brush and clean up the hatchery ” says Kent “Then we raised trout for several years until the market went south ” In 2010 they began looking for salmon eggs and located a supplier who sold them 35 000 eggs for $4 500 “It was a big investment but we went out on a limb to give it a try Those eggs hatched in the next month and now we’ve got a good crop of salmon ” Kent and his wife both care for the fish which require feeding 2 to 3 times a day Kristen feeds them in the morning before she goes to work and Kent feeds them in the evening after he returns from his work They feed the fish by hand scattering feed onto the pond from shore Nelson says that raising salmon like any farming enterprise has its challenges and risks “We’re raising a saltwater fish in a fresh-water setting so that’s the first obstacle ” Kent says “We have to treat the 400 gal of fresh water a day that enters the ponds so the fish will acclimate to it ” After success with the first hatch duplicating it with the next batch wasn’t a sure thing “The fish that hatched from the second batch of eggs we bought all died ” Nelson says “They didn’t like the feed we were giving them and refused to eat ” Kent says natural predators are also a problem Eagles and blue herons manage to sneak some of the growing salmon from his ponds “Everything in the wild has to eat and it’s tough to protect a small pond from predators that have eyes on it several hours a day ” Nelson says Salmon eggs are hatched in trays in the hatchery house then moved to stainless steel tanks after they’re large enough to swim and eat feed pellets When the hatchlings are 3 to 4 months old and about 3 in long they’re moved outside to the raceways where they’re fed to a market weight of 2 to 2 1/2 lbs The Nelsons are selling some of their fish at local markets in Prairie du Chien and he hopes the majority of the first crop can be sold to a distributor who markets to food service operations Nelson says they’d probably cost more than imported salmon but he hopes that “locally-grown” on a label would outweigh the higher cost issue for quality-oriented consumers “Salmon are fussier than trout to raise ” Kent says “but we’re learning more every day I think we’ve got a good niche ” In the U S more than 90 percent of salmon is imported from Chile Norway Scotland and Canada In Maine farm-raised Atlantic salmon are that state’s second most valuable fishery product behind lobster Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kent L Nelson 58575 Benhardt Ridge Rd Eastman Wis 54626 ph 608 874-4547

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