Profitability of Indoor Production of Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei): A Case Study of the Indiana Industry

Structural changes in Midwest agriculture over the past two decades have resulted in a number of empty and unused farm buildings. Farmers therefore have been exploring alternative uses of livestock farm buildings for the production of other cash crops, including aquaculture products. In Indiana, Pacific White shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) production has attracted interest, and a number of small producers are investing in shrimp production in their farm buildings and other farm facilities. The producers are motivated by the fact that they could produce and market fresh (never frozen) high-quality shrimp products in these systems to compete with imported frozen shrimp. The industry-wide standard for selling fresh or frozen shrimp in the shell without the head on is by quantitative unit, i.e., count per pound. There are several standardized sizes, which range from “U/10” (under 10 count), representing shrimp that are large enough that fewer than 10 weigh about a pound, to “61/70” shrimp (61-70 count), which are relatively very small in size. Data and information gathered from the Indiana shrimp industry suggests that producers are producing and selling shrimp counts in the range of “21/25,” “26/30,” “31/35,” and “36/40.” Some producers have indicated that, on certain occasions, the increased demand does not allow them to grow the shrimp to bigger sizes and that they are forced to sell at smaller sizes. This publication compares the profitability of producing different shrimp sizes, i.e., “21/25,” “26/30,” and “31/35” in an indoor farm facility.