what size for $0.25 each and is there a minimum order?
About 1.5". They can range from smaller than that to larger. She said they could get 250-400 in a shipping box depending on the size of the fish. That may be a pound of fish but I can't be sure I heard correctly. As I recall with a conversation with Bob Lusk, the way fish are sold is they get a count per pound then the fish farms actually weigh out the fish. Too time consuming to count them individually. So I am assuming you get a measured weight of fish then based on the count per pound you get approximately that many fish. That is some speculation on my part, but that seems like a reasonable efficient wholesale method, unlike when we buy larger fish and they are counted out.
I think they sell only one size. Or at least that was my take from my very short discussion with Martha which if I remember right is co-owner. She gets right to the point and is ready to move on. I don't think any grass grows under her feet and she is not a spring chicken either. I'll link an article to Keo Fish Farm that came out in a farm magazine that explains the operation.
I think they are more in the wholesale business supplying fingerlings to commercial fish growers. Fish farms that buy them either to raise for commercial fillet production or growers who grow them out to a size suitable for pond and lake stocking to sell to us retail people. I guess I'm a little surprised they even bother with such small orders. By the time they take them to the airport for a hundred dollar order it would be hard to make much money I would think (I suppose they deliver multiple orders to the airport at once though). On a small order the over night air freight is likely to cost more than the fish.
In my case, we are two hours away from a major airport and I think it is about 5-6 hours to drive down there. Wife and I enjoy a drive on the way down to that part of Arkansas anyway (some very beautiful senic drives on the way down) so we will just make a 2-3 day trip out of it. Take a couple days going down stopping along the way, get the fish, then make a bee line back to get them in the water. At first I wanted to do it with the motorcycles and we may still do that. But much easier to drive straight through with a car for that distance. My butt and back ain't as tough as it used to be when it comes to riding long distances in one stretch. Plus the weather can make an otherwise pleasant trip into miserable.
If we do take the car (probably) it might be such that anyone within close enough driving distance with me could order some and we could bring them back along with our order, picking them up at our farm.
The bulk of the conversation with her was call back June 1 and we will put you on the list.
