DAY IN THE LIFE OF A LOUISIANA CRAWFISH FARMER (this is where crawfish come from)
This YouTube video (May 19, 2021) follows hosts Nate and Kara Buchanan as they spend a day with Madison, owner of a large Louisiana crawfish operation. The video shows the harvest process (trapping on flooded rice fields), on-site weighing and bagging at a central dock where ~20 fishermen bring catches from thousands of flooded acres, mechanical sorting of undersized/debris crawfish, and shipment across the U.S. It also captures regional food culture: the crew samples local dishes (boudin, pork roast, cabbage) and hosts a traditional crawfish boil, with a how-to demonstration on peeling/eating crawfish. The piece emphasizes daily labor intensity, scale (hundreds of bags/250,000+ crawfish caught that day), and the farm’s role as a supply lifeline for restaurants/markets.
Chapters
All right, Madison, how many. How many people does this serve? One. One? Yes.
It's about £3.
No, it's not. Okay. Matthew is about to show me the proper way to eat a crawfish squeeze.
But before we do, we need to rewind to the beginning of today so you can appreciate this bite as much as I'm about.
The fishermen here get started. Early.
This morning, we are going to meet up with Madison, who is the owner of a crawfish operation, and we are going to see every step of the process from pulling them out of the water until they are bright red and ready to eat.
Hey, guys, Y' all ready?
You've already gotten started?
Oh, yeah.
6:00Am we're late for work.
Wow.
We're basically on a thousand acre farm right now, and what we have flooded up is 105 acres.
Are these all from this morning?
Yep. You ready?
We had no idea that a crawfish farm is actually just a flooded rice field where crawfish have been released to grow and multiply. Up until the 60s, crawfish were just a nuisance to the farmers because they ate their crop. But as people all over the US Started to discover how delicious these little mud bugs were, they went from a nuisance to money makers.
It started crapping my toe. There are a lot of moving pieces.
Junior has exactly seven seconds between each trap, which means he has seven seconds to pick up the trap, dump them out, stick more bait inside, and put it back before grabbing the next one, all while driving and steering the boat at the same time.
It all happens so fast. Takes a lot of skill. We're about to see if Tara has what it takes.
This one.
Wow.
That was another foot. I don't want to get pissed.
That's to do.
Okay, thanks. Nice work. Thanks, Captain. I can barely do it soon.
Still.
That was cool. I feel like this job could be very therapeutic. Like out on the water all by yourself, you just can't think about anything else except for the 100 things that you're doing.
Hi.
Oh.
Everybody else always says that we should get a dog. You're kind of convincing me.
Man, these are so heavy.
They don't look heavy when anyone else touches them. So we have followed Madison back over to the loading dock for step two of the process. Right now, there are over 20 fishermen fishing over 6,000 acres. To put that into perspective, the farm that we were just at, all of the water that you could see in that drone shot was 105 flooded acres. So 60 times that is being fished right now. And all the fishermen are going to bring their catch back here to be weighed and sorted.
Aren't they heavy?
They are heavier than they look. Yeah.
No, it must be I told you.
So. All the crawfish on that pallet came from the 105 acre pond that we were fishing earlier.
Okay. We're weighing each bag individually. So he's putting it on the scale. I write what it says, clear the scale again, and he puts it on the bag, and then we do it again. We have a lot of bags to weigh. I was waiting on you.
The crazy thing is tomorrow they're going to get the same amount of crawfish out of that pond. You can fish it every day on 1077 pounds.
Really slowing him down. Today.
There are about 700 crawfish in this bag. This one specifically is going to North Carolina. But Madison said he ships from all over the country, all the way from California to New York. I didn't realize people ate crawfish outside of the south, but apparently it's become popular over the last few years. What's your favorite part about doing this?
I would say getting to be outside all day, be in nature. If we don't get up every day and do what we do, then people literally can't survive. Whether they own a restaurant or a seafood market or a wholesale place or their. Or they're just a middle man. I mean, you know, if that's what they do with seafood and strawfish, then, I mean, we're their lifeline. You know, we do what we love. It's for the people we love. But, yeah, it's just kind of dreams, I guess.
Lunchtime.
This is actually a hog that we had previously roasted, which is now called a pork roast and rice and gravy. Remaining hog degree so I'm big on. No, there's too many hungry people in the world. This is just my from scratch scribble scratch recipe.
So before we fill up on crawfish later tonight, we're trying a few more Louisiana specialties for lunch. This is called.
I already forgot Bowden. Bowden Boudin. Doesn't sound the way it looks like it sounds. It's got pork, meat, onion, spices, rice.
Mmm.
It tastes like a bite of stew, but like it's in sausage form.
This is pork roast rice and gravy with smothered cabbage and black eyed peas. Pork is very big around here. Some people say it's like they're vitamins.
They live and die for it.
Literally, it is like medicine for my soul. Next is cabbage.
The cabbage might Be the best part. I know it sounds crazy. I feel like if I had been out fishing all morning, this would be the perfect lunch to come back to.
Like you have?
Like, I have, yeah. I mean, I've been working.
We're getting out of the way, because now the real work's starting.
What's the dream? Like, five, ten years? If everything goes perfectly, where do you see yourself?
The plan is, you know, how plans work out. But I'm probably gonna do this pretty hardcore for, like, the next 10 years, and then I'd like to step back, have a family, stuff like that, because it's such a grind and it's so demanding of your time, you know, I mean, I never get to see my girlfriend or any of my family during Crawford season.
Madison is a super humble guy, and he won't brag on himself, which has made it a little hard to piece together this entire story. But we've learned that eight years ago, him and his partner started this business. And when they did, they were living in the delivery truck, driving crawfish back and forth to New Orleans. And today, this has grown into one of the largest crawfish producers in the entire country. He's a super impressive guy, and it's been a lot of fun to hang out with him today.
Okay, it is official. All the fishermen have dropped off their catch for the day. They're about 400 bags in here, which means that I am surrounded by over 250,000 crawfish, all caught today, and they'll do it all again tomorrow. People eat a lot of crawfish.
All right, the last truck just pulled out. Work is officially done. Madison has invited over some of his friends and co workers, and we are about to have our first Louisiana crawfish boil.
I did it.
They need so much adrenaline. So apparently these are at peak eating time. They're this really pretty pink color. These are gonna be, like, peak yumminess and have the most nutrition.
So this machine, it automatically sorts the crawfish that are too small to eat and any other debris that's gotten into crawfish. So this is the bad pile. And these are all the ones that we're e.
We have decided boiler potatoes. We have smoked pork sausage, and we have corn cobbettes is what they're called. So I don't like to over season the vegetables. I think of it as, like, a break from the hot spice. It's kind of like a palate cleanser. It's a milder taste. There's not a bunch of red pepper in your Face. Some people brag about how spicy their vegetables are, but that's not really something to brag about, in my opinion.
One thing I've learned is that there is a lot of work that goes into a crawfish boil.
True talent.
True talent at work right there.
Shake them around a little bit. You want to be careful because they're tender. So you cradle it like a baby.
So why do the veggies before the crawfish and not everything together?
So we have a method that.
Hey, dude. Hey, dude. You like the camera?
We put a little bit of liquid boil, which is a concentrated seafood boil. Probably the one that makes you nose grunge, makes you sweat a little bit. Little bit of lemon juice.
I just need.
So what magic is happening inside the cooler?
All the goodness and flavor of this world is just getting produced. And then you're going to put the crawfish suck the head potato. It's gonna be like, that's it.
Everything's cooked.
How many people does this serve?
What, this one?
One? One In Louisiana, this is one person serving?
Yes. It's about £3.
No, it's not.
It's a healthy serving. We love each other.
Okay. Matthew, you were born and raised here.
That's right.
You know the best way to enjoy a crawfish? Do you want to pick my first crawfish ever?
Oh, go ahead.
Just pick anyone.
They all look delicious. You gotta take it by the head and by the tail.
Okay.
And then take and twist.
There you go.
Got it.
Now, some people, you know, take the pinky and get inside.
Try to get all that. Insert the head, squeeze.
Blow up.
So, pinky, you just like your pinky.
Hot, hot.
Go ahead.
Hurry, hurry.
Oh, that's nice.
That's all that flavor.
Got some pit.
This sure does.
How long is it gonna take her to eat this whole plate of crawfish?
Oh, it'll probably take her a few hours.
No judgment.
No judgment.
I've been doing it since I was, you know.
You know, knee high.
You're doing good. Better than most.
Yeah.
So hold it here, pinch it, and then you pull. And sometimes the food trail comes out with it and you open your deal.
My stayed inside. And this is it.
This is it.
This is the final finale.
My first crawfish tail.
Delicious.
Yeah, delicious.
I have nothing to compare it to, but it is fabulous.
Well, it's kind of hard to explain. It's like that good, you know, home down flavor. Just love.
Have you already peeled another one? Oh, like three more.
Wait, I want my tail. I want my Poop.
Getting help from everybody at the table.
Look at that.
What is that?
Just a little bit of the brains. You know, everything kind of going side.
Ooh, I don't like the brain if it's brown.
Put it down.
Well, hey, eat it.
I didn't know.
You gotta let it eat it.
You know, you live, you learn. Yeah, you learn from your mistakes.
Everyone is so fast.
Ah, my mouth is on fire. Did you finish two?
That's right. On the third.
Finished two bowl plates, and I'm like, not even halfway.
That's who's left at the table. I'm sweating. My mouth is on fire, and it's so good.
Are you just sitting here because you feel bad? You don't want us to be alone? Oh, no, no.
I eat crawfish.
Okay, it's official. Throwing in the towel. I have about a fourth of my plate left.
Thank you for keeping us company. Thank you for keeping us company.
There's Darc.
Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi. Louisiana.
State number 29.
Is there anybody in Louisiana who doesn't eat proper?
Oh, yeah.
If you're allergic, I think you up north. That's it. Don't trust nothing north of I10.
I swear.
That ain't good.
Do y' all ever have, like, races in your family where you race to see who can?
Well, there's no race when you finish first.
Every time.
Let's see if I have any claw meat.
It's best to do.
What about the smell? Are you used to it?
Smells like money to me. You know how people say that?
It's true.
