Farmers Market: Ostrum Acres Fish Farm, McCook
Faded boots cover his feet. A cowboy hat shades his eyes.
Rex Ostrum brings a laid-back style to the Haymarket and Old Cheney Road farmers markets each weekend, chatting with customers as they pass by or asking kids about their favorite food.
But the founder and owner of Ostrum Acres Fish Farm in McCook is an innovator at heart, always looking for ways to improve. Last year he started lending small wagons to customers who couldn't carry all their food. This year he began selling grass-fed goat meat to people who weren’t buying fish.
Ostrum's pursuit of the perfect business never ends.
"People ask me to explain in a few minutes how to run a fish farm," Ostrum said. "I go, 'How can I tell you in five minutes what it took me 20 years to build?'"
Ostrum started the farm in 1983 near his residence two miles west of McCook. A stream ran across his property, and he decided to put it to good use.
He dropped cages in the water to catch a load of fish, and he sold them at stores and markets.
But pouring rain would bring warm water and chase away the potential catch. And sometimes the stream would dry up, leaving Ostrum without anything to sell.
He needed a new strategy. He needed to adapt.
"Fish farming is a combination of two environments," Ostrum said. "(The fish) gotta be happy and you gotta be happy."
He responded by building ponds on his property. Some were small, only one-tenth of acre in width. Others were big, stretching across an acre of land.
Man-made ponds allowed him to control the temperature and water level, guaranteeing he'd have trout, catfish, bluegill or bass to package.
He stopped selling at stores and discovered the Haymarket Farmers Market in 1994, and he found the Old Cheney Road Farmers Market a few years ago, too.
But he doesn't always have enough fish for two events.
This year he solved the problem by processing his goats. Now he has an ice chest full of meat to go with the coolers of fish he brings to Lincoln each weekend.
Prices vary with what he sells. Trout fillets cost $9.99 per pound, and goat liver costs $2.99 a pound.
"I like to tell people we got your white meat and your red meat," Ostrum said. "Take your pick."
Ostrum plans to keep selling at the markets as long as he can. It takes him all week just to get ready, and traveling across Nebraska allows him to drop orders off for customers from around the state.
But sticking around means being flexible. The business currently has 20 acres of ponds, Ostrum said, and more still need to be built. And the trailer he uses might be switched for a van — anything that guzzles less gas during the four-hour drive from McCook.
In Ostrum’s line of work, something can always be better.
"There really is no average week," Ostrum said. "There's plenty to keep me busy."
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or mmchale@journalstar.com
Rex Ostrum brings a laid-back style to the Haymarket and Old Cheney Road farmers markets each weekend, chatting with customers as they pass by or asking kids about their favorite food.
But the founder and owner of Ostrum Acres Fish Farm in McCook is an innovator at heart, always looking for ways to improve. Last year he started lending small wagons to customers who couldn't carry all their food. This year he began selling grass-fed goat meat to people who weren’t buying fish.
Ostrum's pursuit of the perfect business never ends.
"People ask me to explain in a few minutes how to run a fish farm," Ostrum said. "I go, 'How can I tell you in five minutes what it took me 20 years to build?'"
Ostrum started the farm in 1983 near his residence two miles west of McCook. A stream ran across his property, and he decided to put it to good use.
He dropped cages in the water to catch a load of fish, and he sold them at stores and markets.
But pouring rain would bring warm water and chase away the potential catch. And sometimes the stream would dry up, leaving Ostrum without anything to sell.
He needed a new strategy. He needed to adapt.
"Fish farming is a combination of two environments," Ostrum said. "(The fish) gotta be happy and you gotta be happy."
He responded by building ponds on his property. Some were small, only one-tenth of acre in width. Others were big, stretching across an acre of land.
Man-made ponds allowed him to control the temperature and water level, guaranteeing he'd have trout, catfish, bluegill or bass to package.
He stopped selling at stores and discovered the Haymarket Farmers Market in 1994, and he found the Old Cheney Road Farmers Market a few years ago, too.
But he doesn't always have enough fish for two events.
This year he solved the problem by processing his goats. Now he has an ice chest full of meat to go with the coolers of fish he brings to Lincoln each weekend.
Prices vary with what he sells. Trout fillets cost $9.99 per pound, and goat liver costs $2.99 a pound.
"I like to tell people we got your white meat and your red meat," Ostrum said. "Take your pick."
Ostrum plans to keep selling at the markets as long as he can. It takes him all week just to get ready, and traveling across Nebraska allows him to drop orders off for customers from around the state.
But sticking around means being flexible. The business currently has 20 acres of ponds, Ostrum said, and more still need to be built. And the trailer he uses might be switched for a van — anything that guzzles less gas during the four-hour drive from McCook.
In Ostrum’s line of work, something can always be better.
"There really is no average week," Ostrum said. "There's plenty to keep me busy."
Reach Michael McHale at 473-7254 or mmchale@journalstar.com
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