MISSISSIPPI STATE — In an industry with small profit margins, a perishable product and fierce, largely unregulated competition, one Mississippi company has confidently filled its market for more than 30 years.
Pride of the Pond is the catfish processing operation of Battle Farms of Tunica. Owned by Bill Battle, the farm has about 10,000 acres of row crops and 2,700 acres of ponds in Panola, Tunica and Quitman counties. The state-of-the-art catfish processing plant is located just a few miles outside Tunica and employs 121 people.
“We pay attention to detail. We strive to be 100 percent on flavor 100 percent of the time,” Battle said. “We guarantee our product to have good flavor, and we take extra steps to be ‘Certified On Flavor.’”
Catfish are prized for their pleasant texture and mild, sweet flavor. Restaurants nationwide serve them fried or prepared in ways that take advantage of the fish’s versatility. The product’s biggest challenge is off-flavor, when the meat picks up an unpleasant flavor from algae while the fish is growing. Producers manage ponds extensively to prevent this.
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