MISSISSIPPI STATE -- For more than two decades, catfish producers across the Southeast have used Mississippi State University-produced software to help manage their operations. The latest version, Fishy 2003 Version 4.0, is now available through Catfish Farmers of America.

"A licensure agreement between Mississippi State and Catfish Farmers of America to market Fishy 4.0 was signed in April," said Fishy programer and MSU professor of agricultural economics Wallace Killcreas. "So far, farmers owning more than 24,000 water acres have bought one-year licenses."

First developed by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station economists in 1982, the Fishy program keeps records of all aspects of fish production, as well as preparing analyses and reports that allow producers to track fish numbers, feedings, weights and sizes. The program also can predict harvests and feed needs. Version 4.0 refines some of those operations.

"We've added improvements to make the operation of multiple farms safe and seamless, as well as make reports more flexible and easier to read," he said. "Conversion of existing Fishy operations to Fishy 4.0 is usually just a five to 10 minute chore. Detailed information that comes with the program should shorten the learning curve for new users."

For new users with fewer than 1,000 water acres, setup is usually a one- to two-day process of installing the program, checking out Fishy background information, entering local user pond data, learning how to feed fish with the program, and checking out the 38 different reports available in Fishy.

Killcreas is available for help if Fishy 4.0 licensees encounter problems with the program.

Fishy 4.0 costs $125 per year for operations with 160 water acres or fewer. Costs for producers with more than 160 water acres are on a sliding scale, with a cap of $550 per year for operations with more than 1,280 water acres.

Call Killcreas at (662) 325-2672 for more information, or visit http://www.agecon.msstate.edu/wek online. To order a Fishy 4.0 license, call Catfish Farmers of America at (662) 887-2699.

Contact: Dr. Wallace Killcreas, (662) 325-2672