One thing that
we ignore at our peril is the stunning productivity possible with this enhanced
form of hydroponics. It is really an
artificial extension to the ditch and bank protocol used by the Mayans in
particular and throughout the Americas in general.
Greenhouse culture
has been steadily evolving and it appears that this will be the next
phase. Additional add-ons are also
likely feasible in this living platform.
In fact one hundred pounds of fish and 1400 heads of lettuce equivalent
on essentially thirty square feet of floor space is pretty suggestive. What it indicates is that a hundred square
feet is able to support one human easily.
We can take this
knowledge and model and add energy to occupy both deep space and deep earth
habitats. Even the core options provide
pretty fine rations.
The integration
of fish and plants provides a superior protocol allowing nutrients to be shared
and constantly recycled.
This technology
could well lead to the abandonment of a great deal of surface agriculture and
the restoration of gentler protocols there.
Aquaponics new
facet of agriculture, combines fish, vegetables
Posted: Thursday, July 11, 2013 3:24 pm
By Jane Fyksen
The first International Aquaponics Conference was
held last month in Stevens Point. As a type of agriculture, aquaponics is still
in its infancy, but gauging from the attendance, it’s generating lots of interest,
both in this country and abroad.
In aquaponics, plants and fish grow together in one
integrated system – without soil. Fish waste feeds the plants; plants filter
water so fish thrive. The result is a continuous supply of fresh, organic food
that can be grown in minimal space – anywhere – with almost no impact on the
environment. Aquaponics is indoor “farming” in a greenhouse-type environment.
With the right science, aquaponics is both economically and environmentally
sustainable.
Aquaponics can be used to raise vegetables and fresh
fish year-round by an individual family, to feed a village in a third-world
country or as a profit-generating, commercial-farming enterprise.
As the fledgling aquaponics industry grows, the need
for trained greenhouse-system managers has emerged. UW-Stevens Point has
responded by becoming a leader in aquaponics education. In partnership with
Nelson and Pade Aquaponics, a Montello-based provider of aquaponics systems,
supplies and training, UW-Stevens Point has become the first accredited
university to offer semester-long aquaponics classes.
Aquaponics was first offered in the spring 2012
semester. Since then, more than 80 students from roughly a dozen states and
three foreign countries have completed it. UW-Stevens Point hosted the first
International Aquaponics Conference last month as a resource for growers,
educators, government representatives, organizations working in food-short
foreign countries and even Upper Midwest homeowners seeking to grow more of
their own food year-round on a smaller scale.
Chris Hartleb, UW-Stevens Point professor of
fisheries biology and co-director of the University’s Northern Aquaculture
Demonstration Facility at Bayfield, tells Agri-View that the first year
aquaponics was offered, 27 students enrolled. The second year (i.e., this
year), there are 54 students. That kind of popularity and growth is “unheard of
for a brand new course,” he says.
UW-Stevens Point is keying on on-line lectures as
well as hands-on laboratory sessions at Nelson and Pad Aquaponics.
Within the next 12 months, according to Hartleb,
UW-Stevens Point will have a professional certificate in aquaponics to offer
students. This, too, will be something brand new in the U.S.
Hartleb says probably six to eight courses will be
needed to earn this professional certificate, which is apt to take two years to
complete, though courses elsewhere than UW-Stevens Point will probably
transfer. He sees students needing classes like water chemistry, horticulture,
aquaculture (i.e., fish farming) and the highly specialized study of aquaponics
(coexisting fish and vegetable production).
During last month’s conference, the International
Aquaponic Society – a UW-Stevens Point Foundation organization – was launched.
This professional society is specifically dedicated to aquaponics research and
education.
As noted Nelson and Pade, owned by Rebecca Nelson
and her husband, John Pade, is a company specializing in aquaponics, and
partner with UW-Stevens Point in aquaponics education. This Marquette County business
has a 5,000-square-foot demonstration greenhouse, in which fish (tilapia) swim
in tanks; lettuce, herbs and other vegetables and fruits grow on “floating
rafts.”
Nelson and Pade offers complete aquaponic systems
and growing supplies, training and workshops, consulting, information on
aquaponics and tours of their aquaponics greenhouse. Earlier this year, they
were even visited by Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection secretary Ben Brancel.
Their patented Clear Flow Aquaponic Systems is named
such because water flowing through the system for the plants is nutrient-rich
but clear, providing biosecurity and food safety. According to Pade, the plant
roots are bright white and clean, and the fish are raised in fresh clear water.
Further, Nelson and Pade’s ZDEP (Near Zero Discharge Extra Production) system,
available with all commercial systems beefs up vegetable production compared
with the raft system alone. Plus, nearly all water and waste from the system
can be fully used, virtually eliminating any discharge. Further, media beds can
be added for more diverse crop production. This allows the grower to use all
fish waste from the ZDEP filter to grow more plants and a more diverse selection.
In the media beds, beans, peas, broccoli, beets, radishes, carrots,
cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and other crops can be produced; it’s a good
option for farm-market sales, which demand a variety of crops.
Pade, who grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, sees
aquaponics as the future of agriculture.
“An aquaponic greenhouse can produce a substantial
amount of fish and vegetables in a relatively small space. Therefore, you can
feed people locally…,” says Pade.
The “local foods” movement is growing within
Wisconsin agriculture and beyond.
In addition to the aquaponics course in partnership
with UW-Stevens Point, Nelson and Pade offers its own three-day aquaponics and
“controlled environment agriculture” workshops on a regular basis.
For more information, contact the company at
608-297-8708 or www.aquaponics.com.
Agri-View spoke to Pade at last month’s conference
in Stevens Point about their system. Each commercial system uses multiple fish
tanks for staggered harvests. With fast-growing tilapia, a tank full of fish
can be harvested every six weeks, or more often depending on the number of
modules. In the smallest commercial system (a one-bay greenhouse that is 2,880
square feet or 30 by 96 feet), upwards of 17,000 heads of lettuce can be
produced annually, along with 1,200 pounds of fish; however, size and
configuration of Nelson and Pade commercial aquaponics systems vary greatly.
Further, while tilapia and lettuce are used as examples of production numbers,
growers are by no means limited to those crops.
The company also offers smaller home food-production
systems. According to Pade, the F5 (which stands for “Fantastically Fun Fresh
Food Factory”) is well-suited for the beginner to annually produce 110 pounds
of fish and upwards of 1,400 heads of lettuce (or other vegetables). It
includes a single 110-gallon fish tank and two 3 by 5 feet plant growing beds.
It doubles as a classroom aquaponic system, too, for high school ag classes.
Home systems, however, come in various sizes including the largest Family Farm
Market system, which provides 860 pounds of fish and upwards of 11,500 heads of
lettuce (or other veggies) to feed a family and have extra to sell at a farm
stand or local farm market.
Nelson and Pade’s Living Food Bank is a complete
aquaponic system designed for local climate conditions and crop choices, plus a
complete energy system (solar panels, battery bank and generator back-up). It
can be set up anywhere in the world to provide fresh fish and vegetables to
those in need, including at mission sites and even in urban centers here in the
U.S.
Janeil Owen of the Northwest Haiti Christina Mission
near St. Louis Du Nord operates an aquaponics system to provide fish and
vegetables, as well as eventually even corn and potatoes, for feeding programs
there (one of the poorest areas in the world). Owen, who is collaborating with
Nelson and Pade to expand aquaponics throughout Haiti, also spoke at last
month’s conference at UW-Stevens Point.
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