Keo Fish Farms in Arkansas: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and Contact Notes
Profile updated November 2026
Keo Fish Farms is a fish hatchery at Keo, Arkansas, with roots going back to 1951 and a focus today on hybrid striped bass and triploid grass carp. Delta Farm Press marked its 50th year as an incorporated business in 2025 and called it the largest hybrid striped bass hatchery in the world, and co-owner Mike Freeze was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in the Class XXXVII announced in January 2025.
| Location | Keo, Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Founded | Roots in 1951 as a baitfish and row crop farm; incorporated in 1975, per Delta Farm Press |
| Sectors | Hybrid striped bass fingerlings; triploid (sterile) grass carp; pond stocking |
| Scale | About 100 ponds on roughly 1,000 acres and 21 local employees, per Delta Farm Press |
| Why it is notable | Described as the world's largest hybrid striped bass hatchery; co-owner inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame |
| Ownership | Private partners led by Mike Freeze; son-in-law Seth Summerside is learning the operation |
| Official website | Delta Farm Press feature on Keo Fish Farms at 50 years (no official website found) |
History of Keo Fish Farms
Delta Farm Press reports that the farm began in the early 1950s when Martha Melkovitz and her late husband Cleo sold minnows and catfish while also growing row crops. In 1983 Mike Freeze, then a research biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and two colleagues started a private fish business, and in 1986 they arranged owner financing to buy Keo Fish Farms from Cleo. Cleo died in a crop-dusting accident before the deal closed, and Martha kept the farm going and worked out debt arrangements with lenders during the 1980s farm financial crisis.
Until 1989 the farm raised a variety of fish. It then narrowed to fingerling hybrid striped bass and grass carp and spent about eight years consolidating its loans. Freeze helped create a farmer-led aquaculture trade association in 1989 and served as National Aquaculture Association president in 1990 to 1992 and again from 2011 to 2016, according to the Arkansas Farm Bureau release on the Hall of Fame class.
What Keo Fish Farms Grows and Raises
The farm raises hybrid striped bass and triploid grass carp. Delta Farm Press describes the grass carp as sterile fish used to control aquatic vegetation, with every lot tested for sterility before sale, and says that finding a fertile fish in a test sample means the crop cannot be sold. The farm holds more than 180 interstate shipping permits each year, and fish go across the United States and abroad.
Each of the roughly 100 ponds has its own well about 75 feet deep, and the farm uses about 1 billion gallons of water a year for ponds. The farm has gone fully digital, invested $1.5 million in solar power to offset energy costs, and dedicated 25 percent of its property to trees, with more than 50,000 planted. It employs 21 local workers rather than relying on H-2A labor. Delta Farm Press reported record sales and profits by October for three years running, and a planned new filtration system for holding tanks.
How Keo Fish Farms Makes Money
Hybrid striped bass fingerlings
Fingerlings are sold to fish farms that grow them out, and the farm also stocks recreational freshwater ponds. Grown hybrid striped bass are sold on ice, with strong demand in the northeastern United States, according to Delta Farm Press.
Triploid grass carp
The farm sells sterile grass carp nationwide as a biological tool for controlling pond weeds. Certified sterility and permit paperwork are part of what customers pay for.
Hatchery services
The Hall of Fame announcement says the operation spawns more than 100 million fish a year, which shows how much of the business is hatchery output rather than grow-out. Delta Farm Press separately cited about 1.5 million fish sold annually, so readers should confirm current volumes with the farm.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Keo Fish Farms
Specialize when the market rewards it. After years of raising a mix of species, the owners focused on two products with national demand and regulatory barriers that favor an experienced hatchery.
Treat compliance as a capability. Sterility testing and interstate permits protect the grass carp business, and they are easier to manage with digital records. Operators should confirm requirements with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and their buyers' states before shipping live fish.
A hatchery that tests every grass carp to prove it is sterile has more paperwork than some county courthouses. Readers of farm.FM who enjoy farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes will say the fish that does the best job around Keo is the underwater cow that never asks for hay. We salute the crew that keeps those hundred ponds humming.
farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, also runs Tractor Tunes, a country music lineup for farmers. For a sample of the writing, try the archive of one of its staff humorists.
How to Contact Keo Fish Farms
Website: https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-business/50-years-of-spawning-fish-at-keo-fish-farms
No official website, address, phone or email for Keo Fish Farms appeared in the sources reviewed, so the trade press feature is the best verified public page, November 2026.
Keo Fish Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Delta Farm Press - Keo Fish Farms at 50 years
- Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame - Class XXXVII profile of Mike Freeze
- Arkansas Farm Bureau - Hall of Fame class announcement, January 2025
- Arkansas Department of Agriculture - Aquaculture regulatory section
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - National farm data including aquaculture
Keo Fish Farms FAQ
What does Keo Fish Farms produce?
It produces hybrid striped bass fingerlings and triploid grass carp, and it stocks recreational ponds.
When was Keo Fish Farms founded?
Delta Farm Press traces its roots to 1951 and marked 50 years as an incorporated business in 2025.
Who owns Keo Fish Farms?
Mike Freeze is a long-time partner and co-owner, and his son-in-law Seth Summerside is learning the operation.
Does Keo Fish Farms have a public website?
No official website was found in the sources reviewed; the Delta Farm Press feature is the best verified public page.
Keo Fish Farms shows how a small baitfish and row crop farm can become a specialist hatchery through focus, careful compliance and steady investment. For more producers and programs, see the Arkansas state guide on bestfarms.top.