Farm Worker

Job description

Baxter Land Company is involved in the production of cotton, rice, soybeans, corn, grain sorghum, timber, white-tail deer conservation, and the breeding and raising of hybrid catfish fingerlings. Generally, workers are responsible for grading and moving fish from pond to pond; harvesting eggs; placing fish in rearing troughs; feeding and monitoring fry and fingerlings; harvesting mature fish; and repairing and maintaining fish farm equipment.

Most of the ponds are used to house and grow the catfish fry to fingerling size for sale to customers to raise for food or for research. All water used in this operation is heated and conditioned, then returned for irrigation. Due to the technical nature of some of the work, it takes time to learn the procedures and techniques necessary to be successful with the work of the hybrid catfish operation. The catfish fry and fingerlings are very delicate and must be handled with care to avoid damage and/or death to the fish. Likewise, during the breeding portion of the operation, time is of the essence as the eggs and sperm will quickly die if they are not handled properly. The way the sperm and effs are harvested takes skill and expertise.

Baxter Land Company raises all its own male sperm donors and female brood fish. The males must be five (5) years old before they can be utilized as a sperm donor and are sacrificed at the time they donate their sperm. The female brood fish must be three (3) years old to be mature enough to be an egg donor. The breeding of the fish is accomplished essentially through artificial insemination. The onset of the ovulation process is induced in the female catfish when the ambient temperature and water temperature are optimum and hastened using hormone injections to encourage ovulation. Temperature variations of only three (3) degrees can produce all males or all females so timing of the commencement of the breeding cycle is critical.