The interest in shrimp farming on Midwest farms continues  to grow. Keith Henderson and his wife, Katrina, open up  their farm on Labor Day weekend to friends and family who  pitch in for the shrimp harvest. It has turned into an annual tradition for many area folks.

With 5 ponds this year and each pond averaging 300 to  450 lbs. of shrimp, the Hendersons are hoping for a good  harvest, despite this summer's extreme temperatures. "We were lucky to have a good well, so we ran fresh water  into them for a couple of days as needed to raise the level  and lower the temperature," Katrina Henderson explains. This is the couple's fifth season raising shrimp. When  Katrina quit teaching to do day care for her grandchildren, she and her husband decided to create a seasonal job for her.

They buy juvenile shrimp to place in the ponds around the  first of June. Mortality rates are high so they stock about  10,000 in each pond. Feeding chores take Henderson about  half an hour each day. She also monitors the ph, temperature  and oxygen levels.

"The most iffy part is wondering if the shrimp are there,"  Henderson says. "They are such bottom feeders, you never  know what you've got until you drain the pond." Because her husband had the equipment to dig the ponds, it  has been easier to keep the costs down. The Hendersons added  ponds and a processing building over the years, paying as  they went. With the infrastructure in place, this year should  be the most profitable.

Over Labor Day weekend, the Hendersons begin the 5 to 7-hour  job of draining the ponds to harvest the shrimp in collection  chutes. Within just three months, the shrimp grow to yield 12  to a pound. Though they might grow bigger with a later harvest  date, the Hendersons prefer not to risk an early frost that  would kill the shrimp. Over Labor Day weekend, they sell most  of the shrimp directly to people at the farm. The rest  is fried, boiled or made into shrimp gumbo and sold on-site at their farm.

The event becomes a party with artists, wine tasting and other vendors. People bring lawn chairs to watch the harvest.  "A lot of people, even regulars, can't believe that we do this  in Indiana" Henderson says. The fresh water shrimp have a lobster  texture, and people enjoy getting such an unusual food in Indiana.  Many people allergic to marine shrimp can eat freshwater shrimp. This year, the Hendersons purchased blue crab and planted them in  a pond. Like the shrimp, they haven't been seen since. The Hendersons  can only hope they are there at harvest.
 
Henderson enjoys the sideline business, which is seasonal and low maintenance to run. Sons-in-law live trap predators (turtles and frogs) out of the pond. The most important thing is to make sure aerators run constantly, she notes.

Apparently, more folks in Indiana have developed a taste for freshwater shrimp. There were just three farmers in Indiana when the Hendersons started. Now there are six. Visitor numbers at the Hendersons' harvest range from 500 to 1,200 over the three-day weekend.