Urban Aquaponic Farms - NEW Green Jobs

Will Aquaponics and Urban Farms Yield a Green Job Harvest?

By Charles Redell

Published September 16, 2011

"In addition to Green jobs, The Family Fish Farms Network will generate revenue back to the communities and neighborhoods where it is so desperately needed." - FFF

In the wake of President Obama's jobs speech last week, the national conversation is intently focused on growing jobs -- and particularly green jobs -- in the weak economy.

This week, we saw a new twist on green jobs, and one that promises something of a Holy Grail of sustainability: Creating jobs to grow sustainable food products at an economically viable scale that will be consumed in the local foodshed.

That's the pitch from the Recirculating Farms Coalition (RFC), which launched earlier this week. The group says the type of farms and farming it promotes can achieve those goals and more, including urban job creation.

The coalition is promoting sustainable, closed-loop farms that grow local, fresh food and, it says, create green jobs using clean, recycled water in place of soil. The farms can produce plants, fish, or a combination of both -- a method called aquaponics. In its first year, the group aims to increase public awareness of recirculating farms and their benefits, help develop better technology and approaches for the 30-year old practice and work with policy makers to make it easier for new farms to start operations.

Recirculating farms reuse as much as 99 percent of their own water and recycle organic waste from fish into nutrients for other crops. They are endlessly customizable so can be placed in just about any underused, or otherwise unwanted urban environment, according to the Coalition's executive director Marianne Cufone.

"These farms are scalable," she said, speaking after touring one covering just 1/20th of an acre located behind a strip mall in Orlando, Fla. "I've seen some the size of a desktop growing herbs and goldfish and I've seen ones covering acres and acres."

Bail and mint growing in towers on the rooftop of Bell Book and Candle restaurant in the West Village (Manhattan), New York.

The crops grown on recirculating farms can vary widely. On the small Florida farm she'd just seen, Cufone said lettuce and herbs were being grown alongside Tillapia. Other farms grow produce like tomatoes and eggplants and a variety of higher-end fish stocks. Bail and mint growing in towers on the rooftop of Bell Book and Candle restaurant in the West Village (Manhattan), New York.

Urban farms are taking off across the country. Will Allen, whose Growing Power farm is a model of green urban farming discussed the "good food revolution" on GreenBiz.com in 2009, and Leanne Tobias profiled the rise of urban farming this summer.

One of the biggest hurdles for commercial recirculating farms is permitting. Some jurisdictions view them as labs while others view them as traditional agriculture operations, Cufone says. Neither one fits the bill, so RFC is working to change permitting and to develop a checklist for potential operations to help smooth the permitting and inspection process.

On the federal level, RFC aims to convince elected representatives and government agencies [PDF] that recirculating farms are economically better, safer environmentally and healthier than ocean-based aquaculture.

From a sustainability perspective as well as an economic perspective, advocates of recirculating farms have some strong numbers to back them up.

While Cufone wasn't able to give me an ROI on an aquaponics system, the manufacturer of a home-based aquaponics kit conducted a study [PDF] that found they can pay for themselves in 2.5 years. And taking the raw production numbers from one well established farm, commercial-sized farm shows what kinds of returns might be possible.

The farm, which has been operating at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) for the last 20 years, costs $40,000 annually to operate its four fish tanks and six 100-foot vegetable beds. It produces 1,400 cases of leaf lettuce and 11,000 pounds of fish annually. Just using back-of-the-envelope calculations based on food prices at Safeway.com, that's at least $99,000 in retail value of fish (if it's tilapia) and almost $73,000 in lettuce (if it's romaine lettuce, at 18 heads per case).

Financially, a farm like this earns its keep, and environmentally, the story is much the same. The UVI aquaponics farm produces all that food while using just shy of 19,000 gallons of water. One head of lettuce produced there requires about 7.5 gallons of water. On a traditional farm, it would need just shy of 16 gallons to grow, according to RFC.

The job-creation potential of recirculating farms, which RFC is promoting, is a bit muddier. The idea is to "go back to where we once were," Cufone said. "We used to farm and grow food for ourselves and maybe for our neighbors who were good at other things. We're moving back to creating our own jobs."

Photos courtesy of the Recirculating Farms Coaltion.

New Coalition Will Give us a National and Global Voice

This is a new organization designed to support the aquaponics and hydroponics urban farming and local food movement.  We should all support Marianne Cufone in this wonderful and supportive effort to bring awareness and credibility to our New Green Industry and the local food movement.  Local food is fresh, full of heathy nutrition lost in long transport times, and free of harmful additives... this is the Future of Food!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 15, 2011

New Orleans, LA - Today, a new organization, the Recirculating Farms Coalition, is officially launching a national campaign to promote growing local, fresh food and create green jobs. Its focus is on eco-friendly farms that use clean, recycled water in place of soil to grow plants (hydroponics), fish (aquaculture), or a combination of both plants and fish (aquaponics). The new collaborative brings together educators, farmers, chefs, non-profit organizations and many others who are working to create an accessible, sustainable and healthy food system in the United States.  This is their official press release announcement

Marianne Cufone, Executive Director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition, said, "The current U.S. unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, and about one in six people are struggling to buy food. Building recirculating farms in diverse communities nationwide can provide fresh, local food and create stable jobs in a sustainable business, two things the U.S. very much needs right now."

Recirculating farms use innovative ways to be space, energy, and water efficient. They can be as small as a desktop for personal use, or large enough for commercial operation. Well-designed farms re-use up to 99% of their water, and recycle waste. They can run without antibiotics, or other drugs and chemicals, and use renewable energy. Recirculating farms can grow fish, vegetables, flowers, fruits, herbs and more.

"I have been developing and using water reuse, recirculating systems for almost 15 years to produce food responsibly in urban settings." said Dr. Martin Schreibman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology at CUNY's Brooklyn College and the founder and Director Emeritus of their Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center. "People are just recognizing the many incredible advantages of these systems as a novel method of farming. Now, we are joining together with others - farmers, chefs, fishermen and a new wave of aware students - in this coalition to highlight the benefits of using clean recycled water, without soil, to grow food locally, virtually anywhere, year-round. This is very significant."

The Recirculating Farms Coalition was created to be a hub for farmers, policy and law makers and consumers; a way to make connections, learn and join together in supporting recirculating farms. The organization also plans to provide training for farmers, build a model farm for teaching and demonstration and actively engage the public on recirculating farming issues.

Cufone explained, "The United States is in one of its worst economic situations ever. We need change, now. Building recirculating farms will help address the food and job crises by empowering communities to create new jobs growing their own food, in a way that is healthy for both us and our planet.

 The Recirculating Farms Coalition is a collaborative group of farmers, educators, non-profit organizations and many others committed to building local sources of healthy, accessible food. Through research, education and advocacy, we work together to support the development of energy efficient farms that use clean recycled water to grow food. We believe that these recirculating farms can create stable green jobs and supply sustainably-grown plants, fruits, vegetables, and humanely-raised seafood in diverse communities nationwide, and someday, worldwide. See: http://www.recirculatingfarms.org The Recirculating Farms Coalition is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

What is," The Family Fish Farms Network."

... and what are they trying to accomplish?

We plan to create a national network of small,  highly productive and profitable aquaponics urban farms that produce both high quality seafood based protein (fish, bivalves, and crustaceans) in a small physical footprint.  Food will be grown in the same community where it is consumed.  Each of these urban farms will be interconnected through the  Internet.  They will be owned and operated by a worker/owner team that will be well trained and supported by a centralized administration that provides quality standards, training and national branding and marketing team.  This will be a sustainable, profit making social business with the following goals:

1. Run as sustainable, profitable, and just business
2. Eliminate farm source pollution
3. Save fresh water
4. Cut the carbon cost of food
5. Create NEW Green jobs

The Family Fish Farms Network will be a network of discrete urban farms each producing one of more varieties of seafood and vegetables that are organic quality and fresh from harvest to the table.  This preserves the perishable enzymes and trace minerals often lost in packaging and through chemical and mechanical processing.   Approximately 25 Million Americans do not have access to fresh food!  We are an idea whose time has come and we intend to change the way food is produced and distributed.   We are the future of food.  Watch us ... we're on our way!

Traditional Farming Pollutes the Environment

Present Farming Methods Are Not Environmentally or Economically Sustainable
We believe that recirculating farms and in particular aquaponics is the future of global food production.  We cannot continue to sustain the cost of carbon and nitrogen pollution that results from the unbridled use of commercial fertilizer and the cost of transporting food long distances.  We need to grow the food where it is being consumed.  This video on non point source pollution shows how fertilizer indiscriminately spread on farms, lawns, and gardens enters the water system and pollutes the environment.


Nonpoint Source Pollution
Public Service Announcement about nonpoint source pollution


Farm Based Pollution from nitrogen fertilizers are causing significant changes in our water and food production processes.  The Green revolution and the "better living through chemistry (and chemicals) is a classic example of applying technology without thinking through the potential consequences, as the following excerpt from an article by  The American Chemical Society clearly demonstrates.

American Chemical Society
DENVER, Aug. 28, 2011 - Billions of people owe their lives to nitrogen fertilizers - a pillar of the fabled Green Revolution in agriculture that averted global famine in the 20th century - but few are aware that nitrogen pollution from fertilizers and other sources has become a major environmental problem that threatens human health and welfare in multiple ways, a scientist said here today.


Aquaponics Needs to Become a Larger Part of our Food Production System
“It's been said that nitrogen pollution is the biggest environmental disaster that nobody has heard of,” Alan Townsend, Ph.D., observed at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week. Townsend, an authority on how human activity has changed the natural cycling of nitrogen to create a friend-turned-foe dilemma, called for greater public awareness of nitrogen pollution and concerted global action to control it. ... "

The Family Fish Farms Network's solution eliminates all commercial fertilizer, while using natural processes to both dramatically increase food production and simultaneously limit the adverse environmental effects of modern agribiz.  Aquaponics and recirculating farm methods must become a larger part of the global food production strategy.

Aquaponics is the Key to Profitable Urban Farming

Sustainable Economic Development Requires - A PROFIT! 

 In any business, profit is a primary consideration.  If you cannot make a profit, then you cannot stay in business without being subsidized.  In fact many existing aquaponic farms are really not profitable on a daily basis.  Grants and philanthropic support from municipalities and foundations sustain many if not most existing aquaponics operations in America today.

The Family Fish Farms Network consists of experts in agricultural engineering, aquaponics, and  process management.  Family Fish Farms will optimize production so that the goal is not simply to produce fish and veggies, but do do so at a reasonable profit

Aquaponics For Profit
www.ecofilms.com.au Converting from hydroponics to aquaponics and making a profit with Murray Hallam from his latest DVD "Aquaponics Secrets." www.ecofilms.com.au

As the video presents, the value of the fish as fertilizer is a key factor in the overall profit picture.  Fish grow more slowly than vegetables.  It can take six or seven months to grow a fingerling to a market sized fish of a pound and a half.  Lettuce however will grow to maturity in one month.  The fish provide natural pollution free fertilizer for the veggies.  During the maturation of the fish, seven or eight crops of lettuce can be produced..  We plan to offset the initial seven moth fish growth by adding partially grown fish from existing aquaculture sites. The economics of Tilapia (the most popular fish in America today) and Boston Lettuce, an easy to grow in demand lettuce are shown here.

Aquaponics can grow a wide variety of seafood, not just fish but we import tons of Tilapia from Ecuador and Asia so it is a good production target as our fish will be fresh caught (within hours) while most commercially available fish is not fresh caught.  Our key sales proposition will be FRESH, LOCAL FOOD!  There's no competing with food just hours from being harvested.

Good Environmental Practice is GOOD Business

The Family Fish Farms Network Is Highly Efficient

• Also, since we do not have to purchase and apply commercial fertilizer (the fish produce the best natural fertilizer possible) we save all of that cost as well.  
• In addition, we have virtually not shipping costs since we are local.  
• Finally, we can sell direct to the retail and restaurant's and require not "distributor," that also saves a significant part of the cost of sale.

The profit margins for Tilapia and Lettuce give us sufficient room for a reasonable profit.  However, we see aquaponics as a means to assure food security.  In other words to make certain that there is a locally avaiable supply of fresh food that is not dependent upon imports or large scale agri-business.  Most food we eat is NOT fresh.  For example the average head of lettuce travels 1,500 miles from farm to table.  The provision of food grown locally is the best hedge against a shortage and since this is an indoor growing model we are not dependent upon weather or the seasons.  

Aquaponics Urban Farming is the next generation of Food!

The Family Fish Farm Network - A Profitable Social Business

Everybody is Talking About NEW Green Jobs - We are DOING Something About IT!
With unemployment in double digits and seemingly on the rise, there is an urgent need to create hope and opportunity. Our new initiative is intended to create new green jobs. In addition it will involve the community in long-term economic development and in mobilizing support for local products and production. In seeking a practical solution, we are committing our abilities and resources to the enrichment of the lives of our neighborhoods and communities. With this goal in mind, we are announcing the formation and prospective launch of: The Family Fish Farm Network, Inc.

The Family Fish Farms Network is a business that will bring a NEW and innovative model to our commercially devastated inner cities, towns, and rural areas. . The plan is to build and operate a network of Aquaponic farms within our cities that will provide local high quality organic fresh seafood and vegetables. These neighborhood fish farms will be operated by the persons within that community and they will all have the opportunity to participate in ownership. This business model is intended to provide jobs, promote pride in ownership, and offer a source of clean, fresh, local food. In addition to this, we intend to reinvest a large percentage of our profits into our communities by helping fund education and training programs for our youth, and meaningful opportunities for those hardest to employ. It is our further intention to provide both organizational and financial transparency.

The Family Fish Farms Network and The Triple Bottom Line:
The triple bottom line (abbreviated as "TBL" or "3BL", and also known as "people, planet, profit" or "the three pillars"[1]) captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal) success: economic, ecological and social. With the ratification of the United Nations andICLEI TBL standard for urban and community accounting in early 2007, this became the dominant approach to public sector full cost accounting. Similar UN standards apply to natural capital and human capital measurement to assist in measurements required by TBL, e.g. the ecoBudget standard for reportingecological footprint.

Finally, Please visit our website www.familyfishfarms.com.  Our Facebook page is: Family Fish Farms  This will be one of the means we will use to communicate our plans and to engage the energy and participation of the community. In addition to this blog we will use other social media tools like Twitter and Facebook. Our fundamental goal is to create decent green jobs. It is our plan to make this a sustainable community economic development project. Our goal is to build strong communities one business at a time!

Energy & Environment Monitor - August 3, 2011

Here's What We've Been Saying All Along

The Family Fish Farms Network is advocating for a national network of urban aquaponic farms that will change the way we grow and distribute food.  The following comes from an independent, University based study.  This is conclusive proof that our model and distributive business strategy can change the environmental, societal, and gastronomical topography of America ... it it will taste better too!

The Rest of this blog post is a direct quote from The Energy and Environment Monitor:

"...Aquaponics produces safe, fresh, organic fish and vegetables. When aquaponics is combined with a controlled environment greenhouse, premium quality crops can be grown on a year-round basis, anywhere in the world. Aquaponics can be used to sustainably raise fresh fish and vegetables for a family, to feed a town or to generate a profit in a commercial farming venture.

■ Aquaponics uses less than 2% of the water that traditional farming does.

■ Aquaponics is energy-efficient: current systems use one-tenth of the energy conventional farming does.

■ Aquaponics has eight to ten times more vegetable production in the same area and time.

■ Aquaponics is fully scalable from backyard family systems to full commercial systems.

■ Aquaponics produce can be USDA Certified Organic and Food Safety Certified.