This year we will be staggering the dates workers begin working. Work in hybrid catfish hatchery. Clean and sterilize equipment. Collect brood fish and sort male from female fish. Handle live brood fish; weigh, administer hormone shots, collect fish eggs by hand from female brood fish, collect sperm from male brood fish and fertilize eggs. Incubate and oxygenate eggs in egg hatching tanks. Move hatched eggs, sac-fry, to rearing troughs for 3-5 days. Feed swim-up fry 2-7 days and transfer to nursery ponds. Move fish to rearing ponds, feed and grow to fingerling size (3-8 inches long) for 5 to 10 months. Record spawning output, egg hatchability, fry survival, and growth rates of fingerlings and food sized fish. Work on catfish ponds; Drive tractors up to 250 HP. Feed fish and fingerlings Check oxygen levels and water temperature in ponds. Monitor ponds for insects and disease. Run birds off the farm ponds. Seine ponds to harvest and move fish and fingerlings. Load out fish and fingerlings for transport. Hook and unhook aerators. Clean equipment (e.g. paddle wheels, buoys, etc.) Maintain record of fish harvested by weight, by fish size, number transferred etc. Get ponds ready for new crop of fish; Drain and pump up ponds, cleaning out ponds, salt ponds, levee preparation and maintenance.Maintenance and repairs on farm property and farm equipment; clean shop area, clean and repair equipment. Mow grass with a tractor and brush hog or large mower. Weed eat, level roads, and service tractors. General farm maintenance.
Employment period: Jan 2, 2027 – Oct 30, 2027
