Mississippi farm raised catfish provides the most consistent year round supply of fish gurry. It is the only commercial species available in large quantities twelve months of the year.
The state ranks first in the US catfish production with about 112,000 acres of catfish ponds and sales of catfish have doubled in the last 5 years. HCA's raw material supplier, Consolidated Catfish Companies, LLC, is one of the largest and most successful catfish processors in the state. The present plant processes 1,300,000 pounds of catfish 
per week of which half can be used as fish gurry. We plan to process 250,000 pounds per week in 2004 of a single strength liquid hydrolysate.
MultiBloom® does not use decomposing remains of fish. MultiBloom® is processed from freshly harvested catfish that is ground up and the protein is used one Millimeter in size.
The result is a uniform product that contains 17 different amino acids that equate to 12+% by volume of protein.
Even though the Nitrogen is only 2%. 1.7% is water soluble.
This product is designed for foliar or drip application. It improves the soil too. With soil application the roots will absorb the macro and micro nutrients in OF2 and MultiBloom®.
Inorganic nitrogen fertilizer is water soluble. When applied to the soil the nitrogen is immediately available for plant growth. (Applying too much will burn the leaf tissue and root tissue.) If it is not immediately available for plant growth, it is not totally unused. The soluble products will follow the water run off from the area into ground water or streams and lakes. Fish hydrolysate (OF2) will remain as a solid on the soil, as amino acids, until the amino acids are completely broken down into its elements and used and absorbed by plant roots.
This results in aiding in soil restoration and refurbishing the soil of nutrients and soil micro organisms.
The University of Massachusetts, Amherst compared the nitrogen release from various compounds for plant growth.
The following conclusions were drawn:
- 90% of the nitrogen derived from ammonium sulfate was released in three (3) weeks. Very little remained after (3) weeks. (90%)
- 75% of urea nitrogen was derived in three (3) weeks. An additional 10% was released over a six (6) week period. (85%)
- 40% of nitrogen derived from fish was released in three (3) weeks. An additional 50% was released over the next fifteen (15) weeks. (90%)
- Supplemental fast release nitrogen (Urea, Ammonium Sulfate) applied with organic sources (fish) increased the percent of total available nitrogen over a fifteen (15) week period.
- For turf, 30% of Milorganite nitrogen was released in three (3) weeks. An additional 30% was released over the next ten (10) weeks.
The study showed that only 40% of Milonigate nitrogen would NOT be available for plant growth (only 60% was usable) 30% of Urea from the source of nitrogen was released in three (3) weeks. An additional 30% was released over the next twelve (12) weeks. The remainder (40%) of Urea from nitrogen was not available for plant growth. (Only 60% was usable.)
NOTE: While inorganic fertilizer is cheaper, it is short lived and only a portion of the total applied is usable by plants. Whereas, fish fertilizer lasts up to a 15 week period and over 90% is usable by plants.
- Nitrogen - Overall yellow with no green veins
- Magnesium - Yellow between veins, looks somewhat like iron deficiency
- Boron - New leaves are smaller, edges curl and are thicker
- Potassium - Browning of older leaves, edges dying, leaf crinkling and splotching
- Manganese - Mottling of new leaves with checkering between veins
- Iron - Yellowing of all but the veins
- Sulfur - Lack of pigment in all parts of new leaves
