Rural Missouri - October 2024 - 15

Left: The team at Ozark Fisheries in Stoutland raises two types of koi and five types of goldfish such as these common, shubunkin and sarasa goldfish.
Above left: Margaret Cleveland is a fourth-generation fish farmer. She worked on the farm as a child and joined the family business full-time
in 2018. She works alongside her father, Larry Cleveland, and their 20 employees. Above right: To move fish from the tank truck to the holding
tanks, the team deploys a custom-made " fish waterslide, " which uses a pipe and gravity to transfer the fish quickly and in a low-stress way.
by Sara Schafer | sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop
photos by Sara Schafer and Ricki Spargo
O
rders are flying in - six comet goldfish headed to
North Carolina, 20 boxes of butterfly koi destined
for California and 250 rosie red minnows wanted
in Texas. The orders start a synchronized dance
for the team at Ozark Fisheries.
Dwaine grabs a bucket and heads to a raceway teeming
with fish to hand pick each order. The chosen fish are
transferred to a metal holding can and box prep begins.
The computer system has processed the quantity and size
of fish, as well as the destination. Martín places a plastic
bag in a cardboard box, adds water and sends it down
the conveyor belt. Next, the fish are added to the box and
Mario adds hospital-grade oxygen. Miguel uses a machine
to clamp the bag shut. The box is sealed, and it will soon
be picked up by UPS or FedEx. In less than 24 hours,
customers will welcome new fishy friends to their homes -
courtesy of a legendary farm in Stoutland.
Welcome to Ozark Fisheries, a family-owned business
that specializes in ornamental goldfish and koi. The farm
started in 1926 as a trout hatchery owned by F. Lawrence
Bailliere and Dr. Charles A. Furrow. In the early 1920s,
goldfish became a popular fish, as major chain stores
added pet departments filled with aquariums of the thenexotic
fish. The pair wanted to meet that demand.
The partners converted their trout raceways to goldfish
ponds, moving soil with horse teams, wheelbarrows and
shovels. They brought in a Japanese fish biologist, Roy
Nakashima, who specialized in goldfish. In late 1928, they
sold three shipments totaling 1,035 goldfish for $55.50.
With that, Ozark Fisheries became an ornamental fish
farm. Through the decades the farm's goldfish and koi
production exploded, and new generations of family members
joined the business. Today the operation is run by the
third and fourth generation of fish farmers, including Larry
Cleveland, a grandson of Lawrence, as well as his children,
Margaret and Joseph Cleveland.
With its roots back to the 1920s, Ozark Fisheries is one
of the original commercial members of Laclede Electric
Cooperative. " If we weren't the first, we're probably the
only one that's still in business, " Larry says.
While the farm has deep roots in Missouri, Ozark
Fisheries has a second location in Martinsville, Indiana.
In 1970, the operation purchased its biggest competitor,
Grassyfork Fisheries, which is the oldest, continuously
operated private fish farm in the U.S. Joseph runs the
Indiana operation, and Margaret is taking the lead in Missouri,
as they apprentice with their father.
The sheer volume produced by Ozark Fisheries is
almost unbelievable. The Missouri farm covers 7,000
contiguous acres and 300 ponds filled with millions of fish.
" Everyone defines ponds and lakes differently, " Margaret
says. " My definition is anything less than 5 acres is a pond
and anything bigger than 5 acres is a lake. "
For years the team would breed fish in ponds, but that
left the fish at the mercy of Mother Nature. Twenty years
ago, they repurposed a building with tanks to spawn fish
in outdoor raceways and bring eggs inside to hatch.
" With controlled water temperature and oxygen, the
eggs will hatch like clockwork in three days, and then we
take them outside to stock fresh ponds, " Margaret says. " A
fry (baby fish) is the size of your eyelash, so a lot of times
you can't see them in a pond for a good 30 to 40 days. On
average, we stock 1 million fry per 1 acre of water. We raise
OCTOBER 2024 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 15

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Rural Missouri - October 2024

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