Consolidated Catfish Producers in Mississippi: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Consolidated Catfish Producers is the Isola, Mississippi company formed when Delta Pride Catfish and Country Select Catfish merged in early 2006. It sells under the Delta Pride and Country Select brands and is primarily owned by catfish farmers who supply 60-65 percent of its live fish, making it a farmer-owned anchor of Mississippi's catfish industry.
| Location | Isola, Humphreys County, Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Founded | Merger of Delta Pride (opened 1980, Indianola) and Country Select (Isola) in early 2006 |
| Sectors | Catfish processing, sales, marketing and distribution |
| Scale | A 2015 expansion investment of $900,000 was reported to add 12 jobs |
| Why it is elite | Formed from two major Delta catfish processors in the leading catfish state |
| Ownership | Primarily owned by catfish farmers (2015 report) |
| Official website | Area Development news item on the Consolidated Catfish Isola expansion |
History of Consolidated Catfish Producers
Commercial farm-raised catfish began in Arkansas in 1963 and in Mississippi in 1965, with rapid expansion in the Delta after 1970. Delta Pride Catfish opened in Indianola in 1980, and Country Select Catfish was a major producer in Isola. In early 2006 the two merged to form Consolidated Catfish Producers, which handles sales, marketing and distribution for both.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History reports that in 2005 Mississippi produced about 350 million pounds of catfish, 55 percent of the national total, from about 100,000 pond water acres. Humphreys County, home of Isola, had the most catfish water acres in the state.
What Consolidated Catfish Producers Grows and Raises
Consolidated Catfish's live fish come partly from its owners, who are catfish farmers producing 60 to 65 percent of the company's raw material. Fish are grown in Delta ponds, harvested and processed at the company's facilities, then sold under the Delta Pride and Country Select brands.
In December 2015 the company announced a $900,000 investment to expand its Isola production facility, adding 12 jobs, with infrastructure help from the Mississippi Development Authority. Richard Stevens was named as president in that report.
How Consolidated Catfish Producers Makes Money
Processed catfish sales
The company sells fresh and frozen catfish products under its two brands. Processing lets grower-owners capture value beyond the live-fish price.
Grower ownership
Because farmers own the company, profits from processing and marketing flow back to the people raising the fish, a classic cooperative-style advantage.
Brand and distribution
Delta Pride and Country Select give the company recognizable retail and food service labels. Combined marketing reduces duplication between the legacy companies.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Consolidated Catfish Producers
Own your outlet. A fish farmer depends on a processor for a place to sell. Grower ownership of the plant secures that market and shares the processing margin, a strategy producers of other perishable commodities may adapt.
Merge to reach scale. Combining Delta Pride and Country Select consolidated sales and distribution. Smaller producers in any sector can look at cooperatives, marketing groups or shared facilities before building their own.
A catfish company with two brand names and a Delta address is the closest thing Mississippi has to a pond-based royal family. Fans of farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes can find the gentle kind at farm.FM, where bottom-feeder jokes are strictly aimed at other bottom-feeders, never at hardworking catfish farmers.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
How to Contact Consolidated Catfish Producers
No official company website was found; this is a trade news item on the operation, November 2026. Contact through industry associations such as The Catfish Institute or Catfish Farmers of Mississippi may help.
Consolidated Catfish Producers Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Area Development news item - Consolidated Catfish expansion in Isola, Mississippi
- Mississippi Department of Archives and History - History of catfish farming in Mississippi
- The Catfish Institute - Industry marketing organization
- Mississippi State Extension catfish - Catfish production resources
- USDA catfish blog - Catfish in US aquaculture and Mississippi agriculture
Consolidated Catfish Producers FAQ
Where is Consolidated Catfish Producers?
In Isola, Humphreys County, in the Mississippi Delta.
What brands does it sell?
Delta Pride and Country Select.
Who owns the company?
A 2015 report says it is primarily owned by catfish farmers who supply 60-65 percent of its live fish.
When was it formed?
Delta Pride and Country Select merged in early 2006.
Consolidated Catfish Producers shows how grower ownership and brand consolidation can keep a Delta aquaculture industry competitive. See the Mississippi farms guide for the wider state context and the other profiled operations.