PRESS RELEASE    August 10, 2009
Kerr Center, PO Box 588, Poteau, OK 74953 918.647.9123 mailbox@kerrcenter.com
Press releases are online at www.kerrcenter.com 
Kerr Center is a non-profit educational foundation.
Contact:  mauramcdermot.kerrcenter@ecewb.com 
ATTENTION: AGRICULTURE or BUSINESS EDITOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  - USE UNTIL Sept. 3, 2009

Pond-Raised Prawn Field Day Set for Sept. 12

Most Oklahomans wouldn’t bring hip waders and seining nets to a roundup.  After they meet Jeremy Eaton, that could change.

On September 12, Eaton will host a field day to demonstrate how he’s been raising freshwater shrimp, or prawns, for the past two years in the pond on his farm near Cashion, northwest of Oklahoma City.

During the two-hour field day, which starts at 9:30, Eaton will harvest his second crop of prawns in as many years.  In the meantime, he’ll give visitors the lowdown on production methods, potential problems, and harvesting and marketing.

Eaton received a 2008 Oklahoma Producer Grant from the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to demonstrate the feasibility of raising prawns in farm ponds as an additional income source for Oklahoma farmers.

Registration for the prawn field day is free, but required by September 4 to reserve a place. Space is limited. To register, email jcastillo@kerrcenter.com, or call 918.647.9123.  

Eaton says that the water quality, oxygen levels, and prawn growth rates during the first season met his expectations.  This year, he’s been working to address challenges from predation, as well as improving containment of the prawns.

Eaton stocks the prawns, obtained from a Texas hatchery, in May or June, and harvests in September.  The prawns eat readily available commercials catfish pellets, and the production area takes up three acres of a farm pond.
 
The way Eaton figures, raising prawns in farm ponds makes good sense in several ways.  It provides an additional, profitable use for an asset that most farms already possess. 

“Shrimp are a healthy food that customers recognize and value,” he says.  “They can be sold live, maximizing freshness and quality while avoiding the cost and regulatory hurdles of processing.”

Moreover, with over $1 billion worth of frozen shrimp currently imported to the U.S. every year to meet demand, domestic shrimp production offers a large potential market. 

Since marine shrimp production for global markets often damages fragile coastal ecosystems, Eaton says, domestic pond-based production of prawns can also form a more ecologically friendly alternative.

For information on other upcoming events related to sustainable agriculture, visit the Kerr Center's website at www.kerrcenter.com.