It's no joke, shrimp farm operating in Mission Valley

Shrimp, freshly harvested from the Sea of Mission Valley, went on sale last weekend.

Wait, what?

James Vaughan has created a salt water shrimp farm between Charlo and Moiese, and his first crop is ready just in time for holiday feasting.

When Vaughn’s brother, Patrick, began farming shrimp in Idaho, James thought it was a “dumb idea.” But after he started looking into the business, he realized, “This could work!”

Learning from his brother’s experience, he began an experimental tank in his garage for two summers. From this, he learned about temperatures, oxygen levels, growth rates, feeding, water chemistry, and more.

Most importantly, he learned that the concept works.

“That’s how I know I can grow them here, and what to watch for,” he says.

With a lifetime background in ranching, there’s one more advantage he figured out.

“It’s a lot easier than pulling calves when it’s ten degrees outside.”

Vaughan went all in this year, erecting a large building that houses six large tanks (swimming

pools). Other than pouring the slab and setting trusses, he has done all the work himself, from plumbing and electrical to scientific experimentation and automation.

The entire system is self-contained and almost self-sustainable, with no wastewater discharged.

Special bacteria consume the shrimp wastes, and in turn, the shrimp eat the bacteria, keeping feed costs down.

Much of the design he has pioneered, building on what he saw could be improved over other setups. One on-demand water heater keeps the tanks at around 84 degrees. Radiant heat from the water keeps the entire well-insulated building nice and warm, but also humid.

Vaughan painted the interior with marine rubber paint to prevent moisture from getting into the walls, and set up dehumidifiers. His own invention, raised tank covers, limits evaporation while allowing easy tank access.

He created his own automatic feeders, and an air pump system that pre-warms the air before pushing it through aeration stones in the tanks. He doesn’t know how summer weather will affect the humidity, temperature, or other factors, but with his experimental mindset, he will no doubt figure it out and adjust.

“They’re the freshest shrimp you can get in Montana, I can guarantee that,” said Vaughan. And they are “sweeter” than wild caught, he says.

At one family gathering, some family members brought fresh shrimp from the Seattle area and his brother brought his farmed shrimp to compare. In a blind tasting contest, only one of 28 people preferred the wild caught shrimp, according to Vaughan.

Customers pick up their Mission Valley Shrimp live in ice water, freshly netted from the tanks.

Their size is about 28 per pound, but they are growing quickly. The goal is to sell most of them at the 20 per pound size. Vaughan is converting insulated bulk milk tanks to transport shrimp to farmers markets, and soon other venues.

Vaughan shares cooking tips (his favorite is shrimp scampi with a ribeye steak), and in a recent shrimp cook-off, he awarded $50 for the winning recipe, shrimp and cream cheese wontons. He notes that when they are this fresh, shrimp are hard to peel. A quick dip in water that is being brought up to a boil turns them orange and loosens the shell. There is no need to remove the sand vein, as they don’t eat food mixed with sand as they do in the ocean.

To purchase shrimp or check out the new facility on Highway 212 near Dublin Gulch Road south of Charlo, call or text 406-876-4546, or find Mission Valley Shrimp and James Vaughan on Facebook.