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- Welcome, everyone, 
I'm Chris Cirmo,

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the Dean of the College of 
Letters and Science at UWSP.

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I want to welcome you to a 
community lecture series tonight

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highlighting our faculty 
scholarship and its relation

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to our community.

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Tonight's lecture 
is being recorded by

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Wisconsin Public Television, 
for broadcast as part of its

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University Place  series.

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First of all, I'd like to 
thank a couple of folks here

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at the Portage County Library:

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Bob Stack, the director,

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and Scott Tappa, who's my 
assistant for Marketing,

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Public Relations and Events.

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Tonight's lecture is entitled

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Aquaponics: Sustainable 
Food Production.

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And our presenter 
is Chris Hartleb,

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who is professor of biology 
at UWSP, and director of

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the Northern Aquaculture 
Demonstration Facility

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in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

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He's also Research 
Director of the new

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Aquaponics Innovation Center 
in Montello, Wisconsin.

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The Aquaponics Innovation 
Center is a really neat story.

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Chris assisted us in getting 
about a $700,000 grant

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from the Wisconsin Economic 
Incentive Grant Program

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last year, and worked 
with a private firm

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by the name of Nelson & Pade.

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And Rebecca Nelson and 
John Pade were pivotal

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private partners in 
this partnership,

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and I think Chris is 
going to talk a little bit

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about that tonight.

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I've worked with 
Chris for six years.

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I've been here 
six years as dean,

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and I'm going on my 
seventh year now.

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And I can say unequivocally 
that Chris is one of the more

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energetic, creative 
and imaginative 
people I've ever met.

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We've gotten to know each 
other on five-hour drives

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up to Bayfield, Wisconsin 
and an hour and a half drives

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down to Montello and 
always have something great

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to talk about.

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Chris has done wonders

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with our Northern Aquaculture 
Demonstration facility

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in Bayfield, and the 
work that he's done

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as a faculty member 
and as an entrepreneur

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is nothing short of magnificent.

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I just want to commend Chris 
for his incredible drive

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and entrepreneurship.

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Chris received a Bachelor's 
Degree in Biology

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from Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institute in Troy, New York.

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His M.S. in Limnology from the 
University of New Hampshire

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and his PhD in 
Fisheries Ecology from--

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excuse me here--

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his PhD in Fisheries Ecology 
from the University of Maine.

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He's been a professor of 
Biology at UWSP for 19 years,

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where he's had experience 
working with larval fish,

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cool and cold water aquaculture,

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and most recently, aquaponics,

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which he's going to 
talk about tonight.

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He teaches courses in 
aquaculture, aquaponics,

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fisheries ecology 
and field ecology.

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It's my pleasure to 
welcome Dr. Chris Hartleb

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as tonight's special guest, 
speaking about  Aquaponics:

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Sustainable Food Production .

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Chris?

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(audience applause)

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- Well, thank you, and thank 
you for joining me tonight.

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As Chris just mentioned, I 
want to speak about the topic

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of aquaponics, which we'll 
discuss in some more detail,

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some of the specifics about it.

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But the other part is, is 
talk about it as a sustainable

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food production system.

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And before we can get into 
that, I think what we have

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to look at really is 
how does it compare

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with our more traditional 
types of agriculture,

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how much they're producing 
and what their impact is

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and then try to see where 
aquaponics can fit into

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food production.

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So if you think about 
traditional agriculture,

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you know, most of the time, 
you're thinking about corn

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and soybeans or 
potatoes in a field.

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You're thinking about 
cows, pigs or chickens.

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Something to keep in mind is, 
is are we producing enough?

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And if not, what are 
we willing to sacrifice

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to raise production of these 
different plants and animals?

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I kind of got this 
graph together here

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from the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture,

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and what you can see is, 
is that except for Asia,

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traditional agriculture has 
really kind of maxed out

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in most other continents 
and most other locations.

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So in essence, we're either 
producing most of the food

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that we can, or we've 
reached a limit on how much

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we're willing to produce.

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As you can see in 
this graph, basically,

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the world population as we 
know continues to increase.

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Most people look at 
the top line here

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of world agriculture production 
and say to themselves,

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"Well, it looks like we're 
actually keeping ahead

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"of the pace of human 
population growth."

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But the fact is, that most of 
that increase in production

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is actually happening 
over in Asia,

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where all the other continents 
have basically gone flat.

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So how long can Asia 
continue to produce

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more and more 
agricultural products

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to feed the growing population?

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I think most experts would say

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that we're coming very 
close to the limit

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that we can actually produce.

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So how are we going to 
feed the world?

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And as we feed the world, 
what are we willing

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to sacrifice?

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Are we willing to pollute 
the environment even more?

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You know, adding fertilizers?

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Adding different types of 
biocides to these crops

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just so we can 
produce more and more?

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Are we willing to damage 
habitats and wildlife?

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Because we've got to 
clear more and more land

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in order to put these 
crops and plant them.

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And of course, as you 
look at these animals,

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what they're doing with 
a lot of animals is,

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is that they're stocking 
them at higher densities,

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crowding them together.

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This often results 
in the spread,

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a rapid spread of diseases,

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so they're adding more 
and more antibiotics,

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pesticides, herbicides, 
you know, to these crops

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to keep them healthy.

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But in the end, we're the 
ones consuming those crops.

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So how are we going to 
meet this worldwide demand

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for agricultural products 
without accepting

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these side effects being 
applied to what we eat?

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Well, all you have to think 
about is, is what could go wrong

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with this system?

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Can we stay on that same path?

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So if you've been paying 
any attention to the news

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over the past few months, 
and in fact, the CDC released

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an update this morning, 
there have been three deaths

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and 558 people sick from 
that vicious little creature

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known as the cucumber.

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And this morning, 
they actually said that,

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that number of sick has passed 
over 600 people already.

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Why is this happening?

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For the most part, it's 
salmonella poisoning

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that's occurring because these 
crops are being fertilized

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with different types of manures,

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and then these crops are 
getting these diseases on them,

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and then they're going off to 
market and we consume them.

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So what about food safety?

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You know, is there anybody 
out there who's keeping an eye

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on the food that 
we're actually eating?

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Most people would say, 
okay, and yet this harmless

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little cucumber has now 
made that many people sick,

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and is responsible for at least 
three deaths at this point.

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What about our resources?

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Water resources to start.

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Again, if you haven't 
been paying any attention

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to the news you might 
have missed this,

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but most of the Western U.S., 
specifically California,

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is in the midst of 
a massive drought.

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In fact, they refer to it as 
a four-year record drought.

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And they've instituted 
massive changes out there

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and fines if you use 
too much water.

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I found this photograph 
here just to be remarkable

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in that this is an 
agricultural field.

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There's a tractor.

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They really don't 
have that much ground

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that they have to care 
for with that tractor.

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That's the only area that's 
getting water at this moment.

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So we've got these droughts 
that are coming out.

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What's it going to do to 
the agricultural crops?

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Well, they're going to lower 
the amount they can harvest.

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They're going to 
increase the prices,

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and then we're going to have 
to come up with some other

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ways to grow these crops 
to feed the people.

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And then it comes back to the 
statement of sustainability.

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And that is, is how long 
are we willing to put up with 
all of this?

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Or maybe the other 
way to look at it is,

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how much longer can the 
Earth put up with it?

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And if you look at this as 
the world's population booms,

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will its resources 
be enough for us?

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Well, these are mostly the 
predictions that are coming out

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of reports, this one 
from National Geographic.

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If you look at that, 
it basically says

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the human population 
is increasing.

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We've said that already.

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And with that, our agricultural 
output has to increase

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to match it as well.

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But most experts say that 
we're not going to be able

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to sustain that type of 
output, because the resources

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are going down, and the 
pollution is going up.

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So what's going to 
happen over time is,

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is that the amount 
of food produced is suddenly 
going to crash.

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And likewise, you're 
going to get more and more

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starving people, so then 
your human population

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is going to start to 
crash as well.

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So we really have to take 
a global view of all this,

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and start examining it to say

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maybe traditional agriculture 
is not for the long term.

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Maybe we need to 
start supplementing it

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with alternatives that 
are out there.

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And the alternative 
obviously that I'm here

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to talk to you about 
tonight is the alternative

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of aquaponics.

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So what is aquaponics?

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I've actually heard 
people give me a variety

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of definitions to it, but I 
stick with this kind of more,

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a basic form, and that is, 
is that it's an integrated

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production system 
where you're raising

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both plant and fish crops,

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but it's in a completely 
soilless environment

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such that you get the 
benefits of the fish

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essentially feeding those crops,

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and those crops returning 
fresh water back to the fish.

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There are some others 
out there that,

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they still include 
certain types of soils

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in their aquaponics, or they 
enhance it with an addition

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of different types of 
nutrients or fertilizers.

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I'd argue that, that's 
not truly aquaponics

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because it's a 
hybrid version it.

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Aquaponics says you're 
doing it all in water.

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What do we know 
about aquaponics?

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Well, I'm going to 
show you today that,

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I think it's a sustainable 
production mechanism.

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And that is that you 
will be able to see this

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closed circuit of 
nutrients, water, and energy

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just revolving around 
growing both of these crops.

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It's also a natural 
production system.

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It's fish producing fertilizer

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that's feeding the plants, 
returning fresh water

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to the fish.

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There's nothing artificial 
being dumped into the system.

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It's highly efficient 
because it's what we refer to

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as a closed loop 
agriculture system,

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Which means that things 
don't enter and exit

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throughout the production.

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In this case, the water is 
just recycled round and round

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between the different 
organisms so that you get

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production.

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Therefore, it's a conservative 
use of water, space,

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time, and labor.

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Also, you can't apply 
any of those biocides,

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pesticides, herbicides, 
insecticides to it.

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Most of those are 
used on the plants,

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but almost every one of 
them is toxic to the fish.

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So if you did come across 
a disease outbreak,

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if you did have pests that 
are in there and you apply it,

245
00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,900
within hours, you'll actually 
watch all the fish die,

246
00:10:15,900 --> 00:10:18,600
and there shuts off the 
nutrients going to the plants.

247
00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:20,666
So you actually 
cannot apply these

248
00:10:20,666 --> 00:10:23,533
to the plants in the system, 
and some people will say,

249
00:10:23,533 --> 00:10:24,733
well what about the fish?

250
00:10:24,733 --> 00:10:26,066
Do you give them antibiotics?

251
00:10:26,066 --> 00:10:27,533
Do you treat them for disease?

252
00:10:27,533 --> 00:10:30,400
Turns out, almost all of the 
medicines available for fish

253
00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,300
are toxic for plants.

254
00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:34,833
So it really cuts you off 
there that you can't add

255
00:10:34,833 --> 00:10:37,066
all these different 
biocides to the system.

256
00:10:38,066 --> 00:10:42,100
As I mentioned before, it 
produces both a protein crop

257
00:10:42,100 --> 00:10:45,133
in the form of fish, as 
well as a vegetable crop.

258
00:10:45,133 --> 00:10:47,466
So you're practically raising 
an entire meal.

259
00:10:47,466 --> 00:10:49,933
If we can sort of tie into 
that and try to figure out

260
00:10:49,933 --> 00:10:52,300
how we can grow a dessert, 
then we'd really have a nice,

261
00:10:52,300 --> 00:10:54,666
three-course meal 
for the night.

262
00:10:54,666 --> 00:10:57,066
And then the last part of 
which I want to talk about

263
00:10:57,066 --> 00:10:58,533
a little later in 
this presentation

264
00:10:58,533 --> 00:11:00,566
is the fact that aquaponics 
has the potential

265
00:11:00,566 --> 00:11:04,200
to produce crops 365 
days of the year.

266
00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:06,733
It's done so, if the 
aquaponics is done

267
00:11:06,733 --> 00:11:09,566
in a controlled environment, 
such as a greenhouse.

268
00:11:09,566 --> 00:11:12,100
Around here, I think 
most of us would agree,

269
00:11:12,100 --> 00:11:13,600
that we'd be in favor of that.

270
00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,400
I've walked into an 
aquaponics greenhouse

271
00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,133
in the middle of January 
and seen about an eighth

272
00:11:19,133 --> 00:11:20,700
of an acre of corn growing.

273
00:11:20,700 --> 00:11:22,500
Now you might say to 
yourselves, well it's corn,

274
00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:24,333
we get a lot of 
that in the summer.

275
00:11:24,333 --> 00:11:26,933
Yeah, but think about what a 
fresh ear of corn tastes like

276
00:11:26,933 --> 00:11:28,666
in the middle of January.

277
00:11:28,666 --> 00:11:30,533
And you could have 
that right next door.

278
00:11:30,533 --> 00:11:33,400
So it does have some unique 
aspects that tends to attract

279
00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:35,166
a lot of people to it as well.

280
00:11:35,166 --> 00:11:37,300
Now that's not to say 
you can't do aquaponics

281
00:11:37,300 --> 00:11:38,800
without a greenhouse.

282
00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,633
I've seen people do it in 
their garage, their basement.

283
00:11:41,633 --> 00:11:44,133
Nowadays, they're trying 
to do it in warehouses.

284
00:11:44,133 --> 00:11:46,133
On top of buildings.

285
00:11:46,133 --> 00:11:48,366
And then if you, the 
further south you head,

286
00:11:48,366 --> 00:11:50,500
say the tropics, they do 
away with the greenhouse

287
00:11:50,500 --> 00:11:52,433
all together, because 
they don't have a need to.

288
00:11:52,433 --> 00:11:55,000
It's summer 12 
months of the year.

289
00:11:56,033 --> 00:11:57,733
Now one aspect of this,

290
00:11:57,733 --> 00:11:59,866
as I frequently get 
asked by people,

291
00:11:59,866 --> 00:12:03,033
well, aquaponics sounds 
new, sounds risky.

292
00:12:03,033 --> 00:12:04,633
It's not something 
I want to get into.

293
00:12:04,633 --> 00:12:06,933
I'm going to wait and 
see, you know those people

294
00:12:06,933 --> 00:12:08,866
who get into it, 
do they fall apart?

295
00:12:08,866 --> 00:12:12,233
The fact is, is that 
aquaponics is not new.

296
00:12:12,233 --> 00:12:16,400
There is evidence, documentation 
that over 1300 years ago,

297
00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,866
the Aztecs actually had what's 
referred to as chinampas,

298
00:12:19,866 --> 00:12:22,133
and you can see them right 
here in this diagram.

299
00:12:22,133 --> 00:12:24,600
They're actually floating 
rafts that they would push out

300
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,033
into lakes.

301
00:12:26,033 --> 00:12:28,566
And in those rafts, they 
would have plants growing.

302
00:12:28,566 --> 00:12:31,733
And that was basically an 
early form of aquaponics.

303
00:12:31,733 --> 00:12:34,133
Water, where obviously 
there are fish in the lake

304
00:12:34,133 --> 00:12:35,566
that are producing nutrients,

305
00:12:35,566 --> 00:12:38,100
and plants on these floating 
rafts that would absorb

306
00:12:38,100 --> 00:12:40,600
the nutrients and grow.

307
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,200
If you actually go back 
about 1500 years ago,

308
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,666
the Chinese used an integrated 
system of rice paddy fields

309
00:12:46,666 --> 00:12:48,166
and fish.

310
00:12:48,166 --> 00:12:50,400
In fact, this photo here 
is actually a recent photo

311
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,266
because they're still doing it.

312
00:12:52,266 --> 00:12:53,733
They haven't given up on it.

313
00:12:53,733 --> 00:12:55,800
They raise the fish right 
in the rice paddy field,

314
00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,233
and they harvest the rice, 
and the fish provide them

315
00:12:58,233 --> 00:12:59,966
with the nutrients.

316
00:12:59,966 --> 00:13:01,466
So aquaponics has been done

317
00:13:01,466 --> 00:13:03,433
for a very long period of time.

318
00:13:03,433 --> 00:13:06,233
It's just nowadays becoming, 
I guess you could say,

319
00:13:06,233 --> 00:13:08,533
technologically advanced.

320
00:13:08,533 --> 00:13:12,066
And that's why I add the term 
here "modern aquaponics."

321
00:13:12,066 --> 00:13:14,333
Modern aquaponics is 
where we start to add

322
00:13:14,333 --> 00:13:15,833
technology into it.

323
00:13:15,833 --> 00:13:18,600
Get computers involved in 
controlling the green house.

324
00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,133
Using different types of 
technology to make the fish

325
00:13:21,133 --> 00:13:24,933
more efficient at feeding and 
the plants growing faster.

326
00:13:24,933 --> 00:13:27,433
And I put up three different 
bullet points here.

327
00:13:27,433 --> 00:13:31,600
One of them I wanted to start 
off with was Leonard Pampel.

328
00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,266
He actually worked at the 
Milwaukee Public Museum

329
00:13:34,266 --> 00:13:37,766
in the 1960s and 1970s,

330
00:13:37,766 --> 00:13:40,266
and he actually got three 
patents when he was there.

331
00:13:40,266 --> 00:13:42,933
And each one of them was 
basically based upon,

332
00:13:42,933 --> 00:13:47,200
at the museum, looking at fish 
displays that they had there

333
00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,733
that the fish tanks 
would turn very green.

334
00:13:49,733 --> 00:13:51,766
So what he did is, 
behind the scenes,

335
00:13:51,766 --> 00:13:54,400
the place where most of us 
don't actually get to see

336
00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,133
at the museum, he started 
irrigating some of these plants

337
00:13:57,133 --> 00:14:00,933
that he had in the back or 
the back scenes of the museum,

338
00:14:00,933 --> 00:14:04,600
and the plants would essentially 
neutralize the water,

339
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,433
they would absorb the nutrients 
and return clear water

340
00:14:07,433 --> 00:14:10,466
back to the fish display 
that people were looking at.

341
00:14:10,466 --> 00:14:13,433
I just happen to mention it 
because just three weeks ago,

342
00:14:13,433 --> 00:14:15,900
I got a phone call from 
a Mr. Leonard Pampel

343
00:14:15,900 --> 00:14:19,533
who lives in northern 
Wisconsin at the age of 96

344
00:14:19,533 --> 00:14:21,433
and said, can I come 
see the University's

345
00:14:21,433 --> 00:14:23,500
new Aquaponics 
Innovation Center?

346
00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:26,033
And I said, how do I 
have to get you there?

347
00:14:26,033 --> 00:14:28,233
Do I have to come 
and pick you up?

348
00:14:28,233 --> 00:14:29,433
Can you make it?

349
00:14:29,433 --> 00:14:30,933
He says, my neighbor 
will drive me there.

350
00:14:30,933 --> 00:14:32,700
And there he is, and 
he came and looked

351
00:14:32,700 --> 00:14:34,366
at the Aquaponics 
Innovation Center,

352
00:14:34,366 --> 00:14:36,400
spent a half day with 
us when we were there.

353
00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:37,933
He loved what he saw.

354
00:14:37,933 --> 00:14:40,600
He loved to see where 
we're taking aquaponics.

355
00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,466
And he basically just said, 
stop by, call me anytime.

356
00:14:43,466 --> 00:14:45,333
I'd like to see 
this program grow.

357
00:14:45,333 --> 00:14:48,200
And he says, I have a lot 
more good ideas, he says,

358
00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:49,900
that I didn't share 
with the Public Museum

359
00:14:49,900 --> 00:14:52,900
even after I retired, he says, 
that I could share with you.

360
00:14:52,900 --> 00:14:55,633
And, you know, it's really 
unique that you get to meet

361
00:14:55,633 --> 00:14:59,133
one of the fore-founders of 
an actual new modern industry

362
00:14:59,133 --> 00:15:00,933
such as that.

363
00:15:00,933 --> 00:15:02,166
He's not alone.

364
00:15:02,166 --> 00:15:04,400
In the 1970s, there 
was a facility known as

365
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,066
the New Alchemy Institute 
at North Carolina State.

366
00:15:07,066 --> 00:15:10,533
And they actually 
started publishing 
some of the more recent

367
00:15:10,533 --> 00:15:13,400
science articles on what fish 
and plants could be grown

368
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:14,900
in aquaponics.

369
00:15:14,900 --> 00:15:17,966
And then the University of the 
Virgin Islands in the 1980s,

370
00:15:17,966 --> 00:15:20,433
a man by the name 
of Dr. Jim Rakocy,

371
00:15:20,433 --> 00:15:22,800
he did something that kind 
of took it a step further

372
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,533
and that was that he 
started applying economics

373
00:15:25,533 --> 00:15:28,166
to aquaponics and said, 
you know, you can talk

374
00:15:28,166 --> 00:15:30,433
all you want about 
sustainable food production,

375
00:15:30,433 --> 00:15:33,300
but if it's not economical, 
people are not going to do it.

376
00:15:33,300 --> 00:15:34,933
So he started doing the math.

377
00:15:34,933 --> 00:15:37,166
And what he found 
is that essentially,

378
00:15:37,166 --> 00:15:40,766
if you treat aquaponics as a 
local food production system,

379
00:15:40,766 --> 00:15:43,100
it's quite affordable and can 
compete with anything else

380
00:15:43,100 --> 00:15:44,900
that you can buy 
in the supermarket.

381
00:15:44,900 --> 00:15:47,233
He said, it's when you 
add distance into it,

382
00:15:47,233 --> 00:15:49,466
that aquaponics suffers 
a little bit because now

383
00:15:49,466 --> 00:15:51,733
you're getting into 
transporting these products.

384
00:15:51,733 --> 00:15:53,233
And you really can't beat

385
00:15:53,233 --> 00:15:55,400
the current transportation 
system for most of the goods

386
00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:56,900
that we eat.

387
00:15:56,900 --> 00:15:59,700
So that kind of gives you 
a summary of the history

388
00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:00,866
of aquaponics.

389
00:16:00,866 --> 00:16:02,433
We're in the next 
generation now,

390
00:16:02,433 --> 00:16:04,100
the modern aquaponic world,

391
00:16:04,100 --> 00:16:06,300
and we have to start addressing 
some of the questions

392
00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:08,066
or challenges that are out there

393
00:16:08,066 --> 00:16:10,766
and I'll get to those a 
little later in the lecture.

394
00:16:11,866 --> 00:16:14,666
Go back to the 
topic of sustainability

395
00:16:14,666 --> 00:16:17,266
and that is, in order 
for us to actually look

396
00:16:17,266 --> 00:16:20,033
at aquaponics as a 
sustainable food program,

397
00:16:20,033 --> 00:16:22,566
we have to know what 
its sustainability is.

398
00:16:22,566 --> 00:16:25,400
Again, what we can do is 
compare it to traditional

399
00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,066
agriculture.

400
00:16:27,066 --> 00:16:29,700
As I mentioned already, 
it's a natural system

401
00:16:29,700 --> 00:16:32,300
that results in the 
recycling of nutrients.

402
00:16:32,300 --> 00:16:34,300
So that helps us go a long way.

403
00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:37,033
But the other is, is if we 
compare it for some other

404
00:16:37,033 --> 00:16:40,033
production systems, we 
can see, how about beef?

405
00:16:40,033 --> 00:16:41,433
It's pretty odd.

406
00:16:41,433 --> 00:16:43,966
I put this presentation 
together a little while ago

407
00:16:43,966 --> 00:16:47,233
and yet this morning, on CNN, 
they had a topic that said,

408
00:16:47,233 --> 00:16:48,900
"Is beef the next SUV?"

409
00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:51,366
I don't know if anybody read 
that article, it was out there.

410
00:16:51,366 --> 00:16:53,266
It caught my eye more 
along the lines of,

411
00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:54,633
what are they talking about?

412
00:16:54,633 --> 00:16:56,533
Comparing a car to a cow.

413
00:16:56,533 --> 00:16:58,833
The whole article 
was about the fact

414
00:16:58,833 --> 00:17:01,900
that beef production 
worldwide is in a decline.

415
00:17:01,900 --> 00:17:05,466
And the reason is, is that 
it takes a lot of energy

416
00:17:05,466 --> 00:17:08,033
and resources to raise a cow.

417
00:17:08,033 --> 00:17:10,700
And in the end, it's 
not very sustainable.

418
00:17:10,700 --> 00:17:13,766
I just used one factor 
here, and that is water

419
00:17:13,766 --> 00:17:15,700
because that's what's 
used in aquaponics,

420
00:17:15,700 --> 00:17:19,733
and beef basically requires 
between 5,000 to 20,000 liters

421
00:17:19,733 --> 00:17:23,566
of water to raise one 
kilogram of beef.

422
00:17:23,566 --> 00:17:24,866
That's not really good.

423
00:17:24,866 --> 00:17:26,900
That's not an 
efficient use of water.

424
00:17:26,900 --> 00:17:29,833
But I wanted to be fair 
here as well, and that is,

425
00:17:29,833 --> 00:17:32,500
is if you look at 
extensive aquaculture,

426
00:17:32,500 --> 00:17:34,600
now aquaculture is fish farming,

427
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,033
and extensive aquaculture 
is that fish farming

428
00:17:37,033 --> 00:17:39,500
which is done outdoors, 
say, in ponds.

429
00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:42,600
And what you can see is, is 
that it's not too much better

430
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:44,500
when it comes to the water use.

431
00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:48,966
You still need between 2500 to 
over 375,000 liters of water

432
00:17:48,966 --> 00:17:51,800
to raise a kilogram of fish.

433
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,266
So aquaculture in itself 
is not the most perfect

434
00:17:55,266 --> 00:17:57,900
sustainable system when it 
comes to food production,

435
00:17:57,900 --> 00:18:00,000
or I should say 
extensive aquaculture.

436
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:03,200
But when you move things indoors 
into a circulating system

437
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,533
such as aquaponics, suddenly 
you don't have nature

438
00:18:06,533 --> 00:18:08,300
playing a role in the process.

439
00:18:08,300 --> 00:18:10,133
You're controlling nature.

440
00:18:10,133 --> 00:18:11,733
And it turns out 
that in aquaponics,

441
00:18:11,733 --> 00:18:13,733
you need about 100 
liters of water to raise

442
00:18:13,733 --> 00:18:16,400
a kilogram of fish, because 
that water is constantly

443
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,466
recycled through the system.

444
00:18:18,466 --> 00:18:20,766
So at least from a 
water perspective,

445
00:18:20,766 --> 00:18:23,166
aquaponics appears to 
be on the higher end

446
00:18:23,166 --> 00:18:25,100
of sustainability, 
especially, you know,

447
00:18:25,100 --> 00:18:26,500
for water resources,

448
00:18:26,500 --> 00:18:29,133
but in terms of food 
production as well.

449
00:18:30,300 --> 00:18:33,533
Now the other question, and 
this one's rather interesting,

450
00:18:33,533 --> 00:18:35,733
is that people say, well 
where does aquaponics fit

451
00:18:35,733 --> 00:18:37,000
in the grand scheme?

452
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,533
You know, what is its roots?

453
00:18:39,533 --> 00:18:42,566
And I would argue that 
it's probably a subset

454
00:18:42,566 --> 00:18:44,533
of aquaculture.

455
00:18:44,533 --> 00:18:46,666
And I find this really 
interesting just because

456
00:18:46,666 --> 00:18:49,300
this past summer, I was on 
actually a federal review panel

457
00:18:49,300 --> 00:18:51,633
where they were trying to 
set up federal programs

458
00:18:51,633 --> 00:18:54,500
in aquaponics, and this was 
actually the first question

459
00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:55,733
they asked.

460
00:18:55,733 --> 00:18:56,933
Where does it fit?

461
00:18:56,933 --> 00:18:58,900
Does it fit into 
traditional agriculture?

462
00:18:58,900 --> 00:19:00,900
Does it fit into aquaculture?

463
00:19:00,900 --> 00:19:02,466
Does it fit into hydroponics?

464
00:19:02,466 --> 00:19:05,166
And they really didn't 
know where to put it.

465
00:19:05,166 --> 00:19:08,066
Again, I was on the panel, 
and I kind of argued with them

466
00:19:08,066 --> 00:19:10,966
and said, I think it's a 
sub-set of aquaculture.

467
00:19:10,966 --> 00:19:15,500
Aquaculture is the science 
and industry of raising fish.

468
00:19:15,500 --> 00:19:17,666
And you're doing 
that in aquaponics.

469
00:19:17,666 --> 00:19:21,200
The other is, is that you do it 
under controlled conditions.

470
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,333
Now I already mentioned 
extensive to intensive ponds

471
00:19:24,333 --> 00:19:26,466
flow through recycled systems.

472
00:19:26,466 --> 00:19:29,500
Aquaponics, to me, seems 
to be a recycled system.

473
00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:32,000
It's recycling the water.

474
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,966
And you get the benefits 
from aquaculture from it,

475
00:19:34,966 --> 00:19:37,700
and that is, is that raising 
fish is the most efficient

476
00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:40,000
production of protein.

477
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,500
I have this little 
name over here of FCR,

478
00:19:42,500 --> 00:19:45,933
which stands for Food 
Conversion Ratio.

479
00:19:45,933 --> 00:19:47,466
It's a very simple equation.

480
00:19:47,466 --> 00:19:50,766
How many pounds of food do 
I have to feed my animal

481
00:19:50,766 --> 00:19:53,466
to get a pound of growth?

482
00:19:53,466 --> 00:19:56,000
And for most fish 
production and aquaculture,

483
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,700
it ranges between one to two.

484
00:19:57,700 --> 00:20:00,400
In other words, you can 
feed fish one pound of food

485
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,833
and get one pound of 
growth out of those fish.

486
00:20:02,833 --> 00:20:05,000
You can't do much 
better than that.

487
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,066
But some fish are a 
little sloppy eaters,

488
00:20:07,066 --> 00:20:08,933
and it may raise up to two.

489
00:20:08,933 --> 00:20:10,933
If you do compare 
that with things,

490
00:20:10,933 --> 00:20:14,300
the closest is chickens 
where it's about 2.5 pounds

491
00:20:14,300 --> 00:20:16,366
of food to a pound of growth.

492
00:20:16,366 --> 00:20:18,700
Then come pigs at 
about 30 to one.

493
00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:21,233
And then once again, our beef 
comes along with the cows,

494
00:20:21,233 --> 00:20:23,500
and they're like 100 to one.

495
00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:26,233
So fish are a very 
efficient user of the food

496
00:20:26,233 --> 00:20:27,500
we're giving them.

497
00:20:27,500 --> 00:20:29,400
They turn it into body growth,

498
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:31,833
and that's actually the 
protein that you eat.

499
00:20:31,833 --> 00:20:34,633
And again, it's a 
conservative use of resources,

500
00:20:34,633 --> 00:20:36,633
it's sustainable and consistent,

501
00:20:36,633 --> 00:20:39,933
and aquaculture worldwide 
is on a rapid incline

502
00:20:39,933 --> 00:20:43,100
so that essentially, it's 
becoming a very profitable

503
00:20:43,100 --> 00:20:45,366
business for a lot of people.

504
00:20:45,366 --> 00:20:49,166
So it seems that it 
fits that model.

505
00:20:49,166 --> 00:20:51,033
Now if that's true,

506
00:20:51,033 --> 00:20:53,066
then we have to look at 
a couple of questions.

507
00:20:53,066 --> 00:20:56,200
And that is, again, I go 
around and I ask people

508
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:57,766
and I say, do you eat seafood?

509
00:20:57,766 --> 00:20:59,566
And they say, sure 
I eat seafood.

510
00:20:59,566 --> 00:21:01,966
And I say, well, where does 
your seafood come from?

511
00:21:01,966 --> 00:21:04,066
And where do you think 
the general answer is

512
00:21:04,066 --> 00:21:05,700
that people give you?

513
00:21:05,700 --> 00:21:07,700
Supermarket, restaurant,

514
00:21:07,700 --> 00:21:10,566
and then I say, well, where 
does it come from before that?

515
00:21:10,566 --> 00:21:12,966
And almost everybody will 
say, it comes from the wild.

516
00:21:12,966 --> 00:21:14,866
It comes from nature.

517
00:21:14,866 --> 00:21:17,933
Well, the fact is, is less 
and less is coming from nature

518
00:21:17,933 --> 00:21:19,533
every year.

519
00:21:19,533 --> 00:21:21,600
If you look at this 
graph that's up here

520
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,700
and it shows you the 
years across the top,

521
00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:26,900
it shows you our stocks 
of wild fish in the world.

522
00:21:26,900 --> 00:21:29,900
Oceans, great Lakes and 
what's happening to them.

523
00:21:29,900 --> 00:21:34,166
And the fact is, is that all 
of our fish that are out there

524
00:21:34,166 --> 00:21:37,633
in the wild are already 
fully exploited.

525
00:21:37,633 --> 00:21:40,933
We're catching as much of them 
as they are available to us.

526
00:21:40,933 --> 00:21:43,766
In fact, many of them 
are over-exploited

527
00:21:43,766 --> 00:21:46,666
and quite a number of them, 
32% of our fish stocks,

528
00:21:46,666 --> 00:21:49,366
have completely collapsed.

529
00:21:49,366 --> 00:21:52,533
So even though people think 
their food comes from the wild,

530
00:21:52,533 --> 00:21:55,066
more and more, or I should 
say less and less of it

531
00:21:55,066 --> 00:21:56,500
is actually coming from the wild

532
00:21:56,500 --> 00:21:58,333
because there just aren't 
any other fish out there

533
00:21:58,333 --> 00:21:59,966
anymore.

534
00:21:59,966 --> 00:22:02,400
So if that's the case, 
then where are the fish,

535
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,533
the seafood that we eat, where 
is it going to come from?

536
00:22:05,533 --> 00:22:07,966
Well, I can tell you where 
it's going to come from,

537
00:22:07,966 --> 00:22:10,000
it's going to come 
from fish farms.

538
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,233
Or farms such as 
aquaponics growers.

539
00:22:13,233 --> 00:22:16,133
Now here's some staggering 
statistics about that seafood

540
00:22:16,133 --> 00:22:17,766
that you're consuming.

541
00:22:17,766 --> 00:22:21,800
And that is, did you know 
that fish and fish products

542
00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,033
or seafood contribute to 
the largest food commodity

543
00:22:26,033 --> 00:22:28,666
that are traded 
internationally.

544
00:22:28,666 --> 00:22:30,800
That's more than chickens, 
cows, pigs, fruits,

545
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:32,700
and vegetables.

546
00:22:32,700 --> 00:22:37,700
The U.S., though, imports 
90% of its seafood.

547
00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:39,333
So now you know.

548
00:22:39,333 --> 00:22:41,333
It's not generally coming 
from the wild anymore,

549
00:22:41,333 --> 00:22:43,500
but this other thing is, 
is that it's not coming

550
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:45,066
from the United States either.

551
00:22:45,066 --> 00:22:47,300
Most of it's coming 
from foreign countries.

552
00:22:47,300 --> 00:22:50,733
But in those foreign 
countries, about half of it

553
00:22:50,733 --> 00:22:52,700
is farm-raised seafood.

554
00:22:52,700 --> 00:22:54,533
So next time you go 
to the supermarket

555
00:22:54,533 --> 00:22:56,200
and you look at 
the display case,

556
00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:58,666
if they don't have signs 
that say "Product of"

557
00:22:58,666 --> 00:23:00,900
and list a country, 
ask the grocer.

558
00:23:00,900 --> 00:23:02,433
And if they have 
that information,

559
00:23:02,433 --> 00:23:03,866
which they actually do have,

560
00:23:03,866 --> 00:23:06,166
they may just not be 
sharing it with you,

561
00:23:06,166 --> 00:23:08,633
but if they have that 
information, then 
they'll tell you,

562
00:23:08,633 --> 00:23:10,500
well, that's from this 
country, and this country.

563
00:23:10,500 --> 00:23:12,833
Then say to them, well is 
it farm raised or wild?

564
00:23:12,833 --> 00:23:15,066
And then you'll know if you 
have a really good grocer

565
00:23:15,066 --> 00:23:17,333
because they should know 
the answer to that question.

566
00:23:17,333 --> 00:23:20,200
And then they can tell you, and 
I think what you'll find is,

567
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,066
is 50% of what's in that display 
case is coming from a farm.

568
00:23:23,066 --> 00:23:27,766
Unfortunately, it's a foreign 
farm, not a U.S. farm.

569
00:23:27,766 --> 00:23:30,133
What impact does this 
have on our economy?

570
00:23:30,133 --> 00:23:32,766
As I said, it's the single 
largest food commodity

571
00:23:32,766 --> 00:23:34,566
that's traded.

572
00:23:34,566 --> 00:23:36,833
This graph over here 
basically shows you,

573
00:23:36,833 --> 00:23:39,800
the blue arrows are 
the imports of seafood,

574
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,633
whereas the green ones 
are what we export.

575
00:23:42,633 --> 00:23:44,866
And the disappointing thing 
are the light blue arrows

576
00:23:44,866 --> 00:23:46,900
down here which you can 
see in the negative,

577
00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:49,100
which means that we import 
more than we export.

578
00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,600
And you might say, well 
what does that add up to

579
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:53,033
economically?

580
00:23:53,033 --> 00:23:56,333
It adds up to about $10.4 
billion dollars a year

581
00:23:56,333 --> 00:23:59,266
in a seafood deficit.

582
00:23:59,266 --> 00:24:01,133
So it's costing 
us a lot of money

583
00:24:01,133 --> 00:24:02,633
to bring in that seafood.

584
00:24:02,633 --> 00:24:05,500
And the part that I 
usually put up here, which,

585
00:24:05,500 --> 00:24:08,366
if the financial aspect doesn't 
kind of get you confused

586
00:24:08,366 --> 00:24:11,166
or upset, this other one 
usually gets me pretty upset,

587
00:24:11,166 --> 00:24:13,866
and that is, is all that 
foreign import of seafood

588
00:24:13,866 --> 00:24:15,266
comes into this country,

589
00:24:15,266 --> 00:24:17,700
but the FDA, the Food 
and Drug Administration,

590
00:24:17,700 --> 00:24:20,100
can only monitor as much 
as they have resources

591
00:24:20,100 --> 00:24:21,833
and labor that can monitor it,

592
00:24:21,833 --> 00:24:24,633
and they're publicly 
open about it,

593
00:24:24,633 --> 00:24:27,766
that they can only inspect 
about one to two percent

594
00:24:27,766 --> 00:24:30,333
of that imported seafood.

595
00:24:30,333 --> 00:24:32,533
So now you know that your 
seafood is coming probably

596
00:24:32,533 --> 00:24:34,400
from a foreign country.

597
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,800
It's going to be farm 
raised, as well as wild.

598
00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,466
And that when it 
reaches this country,

599
00:24:38,466 --> 00:24:40,800
only about one to two 
percent of it is inspected.

600
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,700
The rest of it, you're 
basically eating and hoping

601
00:24:43,700 --> 00:24:46,166
that for the best, 
that there aren't any

602
00:24:46,166 --> 00:24:49,666
contaminants in it, any 
types of pharmaceuticals,

603
00:24:49,666 --> 00:24:51,633
any types of diseases, 
because we just don't have

604
00:24:51,633 --> 00:24:54,933
the capacity to inspect 
all that seafood.

605
00:24:54,933 --> 00:24:56,966
So what's the simple 
answer to that?

606
00:24:56,966 --> 00:24:59,433
It really is quite 
simple, and that is,

607
00:24:59,433 --> 00:25:02,033
go to your grocery store or 
when you get your seafood,

608
00:25:02,033 --> 00:25:04,233
buy U.S.-raised seafood.

609
00:25:04,233 --> 00:25:06,266
Therefore, you know 
where it's coming from.

610
00:25:06,266 --> 00:25:09,866
Whether it's farm raised or 
wild is up to you to decide,

611
00:25:09,866 --> 00:25:12,566
but then if you look at it 
and say, well farm raised,

612
00:25:12,566 --> 00:25:15,466
I know the path from where 
it came out as an egg

613
00:25:15,466 --> 00:25:18,300
and grew up to my food, 
you know that, that food

614
00:25:18,300 --> 00:25:21,200
is heavily inspected 
because the U.S. Department

615
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,466
of Agriculture and the FDA 
looks at all of our food

616
00:25:24,466 --> 00:25:25,866
and inspects it closely,

617
00:25:25,866 --> 00:25:28,666
and you know that, that's 
the food then that's landing

618
00:25:28,666 --> 00:25:29,933
on your plate.

619
00:25:29,933 --> 00:25:31,433
So it's a little promo there

620
00:25:31,433 --> 00:25:32,700
for U.S. farm-raised 
seafood actually.

621
00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:35,533
It's the safest seafood 
that's actually out there.

622
00:25:35,533 --> 00:25:39,266
Now the other aspect I just 
mentioned to you when I said,

623
00:25:39,266 --> 00:25:42,600
well it's about even now 
that the seafood you eat,

624
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,666
half of it is coming from farms,

625
00:25:44,666 --> 00:25:46,700
and half of it's 
coming from the wild.

626
00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:48,900
Well the fact is, these 
are the projections,

627
00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:51,900
and what you can is, is 
now that we're in 2015,

628
00:25:51,900 --> 00:25:53,533
more and more of that seafood,

629
00:25:53,533 --> 00:25:56,433
so the lighter colors up 
here, is farm-raised seafood.

630
00:25:56,433 --> 00:25:58,733
The darker colors 
are the wild catch.

631
00:25:58,733 --> 00:26:01,266
So in other words, farm-raised 
seafood has actually

632
00:26:01,266 --> 00:26:04,066
surpassed the amount 
that's caught in the wild,

633
00:26:04,066 --> 00:26:07,400
and that number, they only 
expect to just keep increasing.

634
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,666
But that's kind of 
an easy prediction.

635
00:26:09,666 --> 00:26:11,333
You'll notice this has 
kind of fallen flat.

636
00:26:11,333 --> 00:26:14,166
I showed you the graph that 
said nearly all the wild fish

637
00:26:14,166 --> 00:26:16,233
that are out there 
are fully exploited.

638
00:26:16,233 --> 00:26:18,633
So where are they going 
to get more of them?

639
00:26:18,633 --> 00:26:20,666
They can't, the ocean's 
just not producing it.

640
00:26:20,666 --> 00:26:23,133
So as the demand goes 
up, all of that demand

641
00:26:23,133 --> 00:26:26,500
has to be met from 
farm-raised fish.

642
00:26:27,866 --> 00:26:29,400
All right?

643
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,033
Otherwise, there's 
predictions out there,

644
00:26:31,033 --> 00:26:33,966
and that is, well what about 
the popularity of seafood?

645
00:26:33,966 --> 00:26:35,166
Will it grow?

646
00:26:35,166 --> 00:26:36,933
Will more people want seafood?

647
00:26:36,933 --> 00:26:40,233
And the fact is, is 
that about 45% of people

648
00:26:40,233 --> 00:26:42,833
in 2009 were eating 
farm-raised fish.

649
00:26:42,833 --> 00:26:46,966
By 2030, they expect 
that to equal up to 62%.

650
00:26:46,966 --> 00:26:48,800
More and more people 
are looking at seafood

651
00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,400
saying, you know, when I read 
about the health benefits,

652
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,100
there's a lot out there 
that I like to hear.

653
00:26:54,100 --> 00:26:57,766
It's really low in 
polyunsaturated fatty acids.

654
00:26:57,766 --> 00:26:59,433
It's really good for 
your heart health.

655
00:26:59,433 --> 00:27:02,000
It's really good for your 
mental health.

656
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,100
So seafood overall, from 
a nutritional perspective,

657
00:27:05,100 --> 00:27:08,600
is a well-received, 
well-respected

658
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,933
type of protein 
that's out there.

659
00:27:10,933 --> 00:27:12,766
And more and more people, 
as they understand that,

660
00:27:12,766 --> 00:27:15,000
are increasing their 
intake of seafood.

661
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:16,800
Now you might look 
at that and say,

662
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:18,233
well, that's a pretty 
dramatic increase.

663
00:27:18,233 --> 00:27:19,666
And it is.

664
00:27:19,666 --> 00:27:21,966
The sad part is, is that 
not much of that increase

665
00:27:21,966 --> 00:27:23,466
comes from the United States.

666
00:27:23,466 --> 00:27:25,733
We've been eating about 
the same amount of seafood

667
00:27:25,733 --> 00:27:28,366
over the past decade as 
we are right now.

668
00:27:28,366 --> 00:27:30,766
So the rest of the world 
is increasing their uptake

669
00:27:30,766 --> 00:27:32,133
of seafood.

670
00:27:32,133 --> 00:27:34,400
Here in the U.S., we 
generally look at it and say,

671
00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,800
I eat my seafood once 
a week, if you're good.

672
00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,866
Once a month, if you 
can afford it.

673
00:27:40,866 --> 00:27:43,233
And we don't eat as much 
as what the world is.

674
00:27:43,233 --> 00:27:46,233
The world views seafood as 
almost like their fast food,

675
00:27:46,233 --> 00:27:49,033
where we kind of look at 
it as more of a luxury meal

676
00:27:49,033 --> 00:27:51,500
that we go out to a 
restaurant to actually have.

677
00:27:52,833 --> 00:27:55,300
Now if you remember when 
I started on this path,

678
00:27:55,300 --> 00:27:57,533
I said that the question 
that's being asked

679
00:27:57,533 --> 00:28:00,233
is where does aquaponics fit?

680
00:28:00,233 --> 00:28:03,000
And I argued that it 
fits into aquaculture.

681
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,400
Some people said, no, it's 
really a subset of hydroponics

682
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,666
because isn't it really just 
feeding plants raw nutrients

683
00:28:09,666 --> 00:28:11,233
to get them to grow?

684
00:28:11,233 --> 00:28:13,166
Well, partially.

685
00:28:13,166 --> 00:28:16,600
But aquaponics does it in 
a little more natural way

686
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,100
than what hydroponics does?

687
00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:20,533
When you look at hydroponics,

688
00:28:20,533 --> 00:28:22,066
and here's just a 
schematic of it,

689
00:28:22,066 --> 00:28:25,033
you basically have plants 
growing in long trays.

690
00:28:25,033 --> 00:28:28,733
And yes, their roots down 
here are floating in water,

691
00:28:28,733 --> 00:28:32,466
but that water is supplemented 
with basically inorganic

692
00:28:32,466 --> 00:28:34,733
minerals and nutrients.

693
00:28:34,733 --> 00:28:36,800
So in other words, 
they have to add up

694
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,166
a considerable amount of 
macro and micro nutrients

695
00:28:39,166 --> 00:28:42,533
that are obtained through 
industrial or mining resources.

696
00:28:42,533 --> 00:28:44,533
And then they mix 
them up into a slurry,

697
00:28:44,533 --> 00:28:46,866
and they spread them out in 
the water that the plants

698
00:28:46,866 --> 00:28:49,366
are growing in, so that they 
can absorb these nutrients.

699
00:28:49,366 --> 00:28:51,900
The problem with that is, 
is industrial production

700
00:28:51,900 --> 00:28:54,866
of nutrients is a very 
energy inefficient

701
00:28:54,866 --> 00:28:57,333
and polluting way of 
producing nutrients.

702
00:28:57,333 --> 00:29:01,033
And the other is, is mining 
is just basically strip mining

703
00:29:01,033 --> 00:29:03,233
these nutrients from 
all across the globe.

704
00:29:03,233 --> 00:29:06,133
And I'll talk a little bit 
about that later on as well.

705
00:29:06,133 --> 00:29:08,266
A lot of those nutrients 
are not strip mined

706
00:29:08,266 --> 00:29:10,800
in the United States, they're 
done in foreign countries.

707
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,533
And those countries then 
ship those into the U.S.

708
00:29:13,533 --> 00:29:15,433
Well, they're strip mining 
them and they're running

709
00:29:15,433 --> 00:29:19,100
out of things such as 
potassium, such as sulphur,

710
00:29:19,100 --> 00:29:21,200
and therefore, they 
control the market

711
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,566
where they raise the 
prices for these nutrients,

712
00:29:23,566 --> 00:29:26,400
and we just have to accept 
it, so we can bring them in

713
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:27,800
as fertilizers.

714
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:29,200
There's a big issue there

715
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,000
that's kind of a 
political issue, too,

716
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:33,400
because if there's a 
country that dominates, say,

717
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:37,466
potassium mining, and we 
have to buy from them,

718
00:29:37,466 --> 00:29:39,766
well, they can make 
demands upon our country

719
00:29:39,766 --> 00:29:40,933
at that point.

720
00:29:40,933 --> 00:29:42,533
Tell us that they 
want us, therefore,

721
00:29:42,533 --> 00:29:45,200
to export to them really 
inexpensive U.S. goods

722
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,500
so that they will send 
the potassium to us.

723
00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:49,733
So there's kind of a 
political play there as well

724
00:29:49,733 --> 00:29:51,300
when it comes to 
mining resources

725
00:29:51,300 --> 00:29:53,400
and who controls the dollar.

726
00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,100
The other aspect is, is 
that it's a lot of nutrients

727
00:29:56,100 --> 00:29:58,333
that they put into hydroponics.

728
00:29:58,333 --> 00:30:00,100
In fact, they put in excess,

729
00:30:00,100 --> 00:30:02,800
because they don't ever want 
the plants wanting more.

730
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,333
And then the last is, 
is that it's using up

731
00:30:05,333 --> 00:30:06,866
finite resources.

732
00:30:06,866 --> 00:30:09,466
These are exterior 
resources being brought in,

733
00:30:09,466 --> 00:30:13,033
flooded to these plants and 
then essentially remixed

734
00:30:13,033 --> 00:30:15,600
the next day and 
done all over again.

735
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,533
So it's not a recycling 
of natural resources.

736
00:30:18,533 --> 00:30:20,033
It's really a 
one-way flow pattern

737
00:30:20,033 --> 00:30:21,733
when it comes to hydroponics.

738
00:30:21,733 --> 00:30:25,400
And again, it's one of the 
reasons why yes, aquaponics

739
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,633
kind of merges aquaculture 
and hydroponics together,

740
00:30:29,633 --> 00:30:31,966
but I think it 
leans a lot heavier

741
00:30:31,966 --> 00:30:34,900
on the aquaculture side than 
it does on its relationship

742
00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:37,900
to hydroponics.

743
00:30:37,900 --> 00:30:40,633
Now if we look at a 
typical aquaponics system,

744
00:30:40,633 --> 00:30:42,166
it is just that.

745
00:30:42,166 --> 00:30:44,666
It's integrated, 
or a hybrid system

746
00:30:44,666 --> 00:30:47,933
that contains on one 
side your fish production

747
00:30:47,933 --> 00:30:50,966
and on the other side, your 
plant production.

748
00:30:50,966 --> 00:30:53,400
So an aquaponics system 
is really quite simple,

749
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,133
and that is, is that you 
have the fish tanks here.

750
00:30:56,133 --> 00:30:58,700
The fish spend their 
entire life in those tanks.

751
00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:00,100
This is where you feed them.

752
00:31:00,100 --> 00:31:01,666
This is where you 
watch them grow.

753
00:31:01,666 --> 00:31:03,933
This is where you'll 
harvest them from.

754
00:31:03,933 --> 00:31:05,966
What they are 
contributing to the system

755
00:31:05,966 --> 00:31:08,900
is that they are 
providing nutrients.

756
00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:11,933
In a crude form, you could 
say it's fish manure,

757
00:31:11,933 --> 00:31:15,233
but it's raw nutrients they're 
eliminating from their bodies

758
00:31:15,233 --> 00:31:16,866
into the water.

759
00:31:16,866 --> 00:31:19,733
Some of those nutrients 
plants can use right away,

760
00:31:19,733 --> 00:31:21,566
but most of them they can't.

761
00:31:21,566 --> 00:31:23,966
So you have this middle 
section right here

762
00:31:23,966 --> 00:31:26,866
where you can see two terms: 
one is called a clarifier,

763
00:31:26,866 --> 00:31:30,233
and one is called a 
mineralization tank.

764
00:31:30,233 --> 00:31:32,333
I'll show you another 
slide in a few minutes,

765
00:31:32,333 --> 00:31:35,266
but what's taking place here 
is that you have beneficial

766
00:31:35,266 --> 00:31:38,133
bacteria growing in 
these other tanks,

767
00:31:38,133 --> 00:31:39,733
in these filter tanks.

768
00:31:39,733 --> 00:31:43,800
And what the bacteria do, is 
they convert the nutrients

769
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,766
that the fish are releasing 
into an immediately usable form

770
00:31:47,766 --> 00:31:49,800
for the plants.

771
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,900
Most people don't realize, 
fish, 50% of their waste

772
00:31:52,900 --> 00:31:54,833
is actually given 
off as ammonia.

773
00:31:54,833 --> 00:31:57,800
Well, ammonia would be 
generally toxic to most plants

774
00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:59,233
if you expose them to it.

775
00:31:59,233 --> 00:32:01,433
But these bacteria 
take the ammonia,

776
00:32:01,433 --> 00:32:04,433
and they convert it into 
nitrite and then nitrate.

777
00:32:04,433 --> 00:32:06,600
So by the time the 
water reaches over here,

778
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,466
where the plants are, it's 
now in the form of nitrate

779
00:32:09,466 --> 00:32:12,233
that the plants 
readily take up.

780
00:32:12,233 --> 00:32:15,200
Another aspect to it, which 
is the mineralization tank,

781
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,766
is that fish just don't 
release as waste potassium,

782
00:32:18,766 --> 00:32:21,533
sulphur, magnesium and calcium.

783
00:32:21,533 --> 00:32:23,566
They release fish manure.

784
00:32:23,566 --> 00:32:25,600
But it has all of that in it.

785
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,266
So once again, there's 
a whole other group

786
00:32:27,266 --> 00:32:31,733
of beneficial bacteria that 
decompose that solid waste.

787
00:32:31,733 --> 00:32:34,766
And during decomposition, 
they literally do release

788
00:32:34,766 --> 00:32:38,100
the calcium, the magnesium, 
the sulphates, the phosphates

789
00:32:38,100 --> 00:32:41,266
into the water that then 
travels over to where the plants

790
00:32:41,266 --> 00:32:43,033
can absorb those nutrients.

791
00:32:43,033 --> 00:32:45,933
So the little known 
aspect about aquaponics

792
00:32:45,933 --> 00:32:49,366
that people don't realize 
is, yes, you're growing fish,

793
00:32:49,366 --> 00:32:51,033
yes you're growing plants,

794
00:32:51,033 --> 00:32:53,300
but you're also a 
bacterial farmer,

795
00:32:53,300 --> 00:32:55,900
because you need those 
beneficial bacteria to complete

796
00:32:55,900 --> 00:32:58,200
this conversion for you.

797
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,566
And they're, like I said, the 
unsung heroes of aquaponics.

798
00:33:01,566 --> 00:33:04,700
Once that conversion is 
done, the water then goes

799
00:33:04,700 --> 00:33:07,033
into your plant grow area, 
which we'll talk about

800
00:33:07,033 --> 00:33:09,633
a little bit more, depending 
on what plants you're raising.

801
00:33:09,633 --> 00:33:11,600
They absorb most 
of those nutrients

802
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:14,400
and then that water 
basically heads its way back

803
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,366
and goes back to the fish tanks, 
where the fish get cleaner

804
00:33:17,366 --> 00:33:19,833
water back to them, and 
they renew this cycle

805
00:33:19,833 --> 00:33:21,933
over and over again.

806
00:33:21,933 --> 00:33:25,133
So talk about the fish 
just a little bit.

807
00:33:25,133 --> 00:33:28,033
We'll talk at the end, 
we'll have questions.

808
00:33:28,033 --> 00:33:29,966
I'll talk about the 
fish a little bit here,

809
00:33:29,966 --> 00:33:32,733
and that is when you 
ask about aquaponics,

810
00:33:32,733 --> 00:33:35,866
what I can tell you is, is 
currently the king of aquaponics

811
00:33:35,866 --> 00:33:37,633
is tilapia.

812
00:33:37,633 --> 00:33:40,000
People raise them for 
a variety of reasons,

813
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,266
which we'll just cover 
a couple of them here.

814
00:33:42,266 --> 00:33:45,400
But one of the reasons I 
see, as a fish biologist,

815
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:47,500
that people like tilapia, 
is that they are a very

816
00:33:47,500 --> 00:33:48,933
forgiving fish.

817
00:33:48,933 --> 00:33:51,833
In other words, you can 
forget to turn that pump on

818
00:33:51,833 --> 00:33:54,533
for a day, or you can go 
on vacation for the weekend

819
00:33:54,533 --> 00:33:56,900
and you'll come back and 
you'll look in the tank,

820
00:33:56,900 --> 00:33:59,300
and they'll have their little 
fins up in the air like this

821
00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:00,733
saying, we're okay.

822
00:34:00,733 --> 00:34:02,000
(laughs)

823
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,533
I think that's probably the 
main attraction for people

824
00:34:04,533 --> 00:34:06,000
to use tilapia.

825
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,200
We can make mistakes while 
we're trying to grow them,

826
00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:10,366
and they'll still be there.

827
00:34:10,366 --> 00:34:12,600
I put together just a 
little chart over here

828
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,033
to show you why.

829
00:34:14,033 --> 00:34:17,066
The reason for that is, is 
that tilapia have very wide

830
00:34:17,066 --> 00:34:18,533
tolerance ranges.

831
00:34:18,533 --> 00:34:21,300
In other words, they can 
stand different conditions

832
00:34:21,300 --> 00:34:23,633
over a wide span.

833
00:34:23,633 --> 00:34:25,666
Starting off with the first one.

834
00:34:25,666 --> 00:34:28,333
They'll grow just fine 
between the temperatures of 64

835
00:34:28,333 --> 00:34:30,200
to 90 degrees.

836
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:33,733
Over 26 degrees, and 
they'll handle it just fine.

837
00:34:33,733 --> 00:34:34,866
All right?

838
00:34:34,866 --> 00:34:36,333
You compare that 
with any other fish

839
00:34:36,333 --> 00:34:39,200
that we have around here, say 
the native Wisconsin fish,

840
00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,433
and they can withstand something 
more in the range of about

841
00:34:41,433 --> 00:34:44,433
five degree change, and then 
they would just die.

842
00:34:44,433 --> 00:34:47,133
So it's nice to have a fish 
that'll take it easy on you

843
00:34:47,133 --> 00:34:48,633
if the temperature changes.

844
00:34:48,633 --> 00:34:51,800
The same goes for 
oxygen, pH, ammonia,

845
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,300
which I spoke about already.

846
00:34:53,300 --> 00:34:54,966
Nitrites, carbon dioxide.

847
00:34:54,966 --> 00:34:59,300
This is a fish that has an 
amazingly wide tolerance range

848
00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:01,633
for almost all conditions.

849
00:35:01,633 --> 00:35:03,933
And again, personally, 
I feel that that's one

850
00:35:03,933 --> 00:35:06,566
of the driving forces as 
to why people like to raise

851
00:35:06,566 --> 00:35:07,933
tilapia in aquaponics.

852
00:35:07,933 --> 00:35:10,333
They're afraid to make 
mistakes, and this is a fish

853
00:35:10,333 --> 00:35:12,866
that basically will say to 
you, it'll be all right.

854
00:35:12,866 --> 00:35:14,733
We'll get through this together.

855
00:35:14,733 --> 00:35:16,766
(laughs) 
Right?

856
00:35:16,766 --> 00:35:18,366
They also have another 
feature about them

857
00:35:18,366 --> 00:35:20,800
and that is, is that if you're 
raising them in the range,

858
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,766
a temperature range they 
like, you get remarkable

859
00:35:22,766 --> 00:35:24,300
growth rates out of them.

860
00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:28,233
In others words, you can 
take a one-inch tilapia

861
00:35:28,233 --> 00:35:30,700
and you can raise it to 
about a pound and a half

862
00:35:30,700 --> 00:35:33,866
to two pound tilapia in 
about six months.

863
00:35:33,866 --> 00:35:36,500
That's a rapid 
turnaround for a fish.

864
00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:39,600
But that helps in aquaponics 
because it means that

865
00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:43,033
you get a product out of 
your system every six months.

866
00:35:43,033 --> 00:35:45,533
And a lot of people, whether 
they're feeding themselves

867
00:35:45,533 --> 00:35:48,266
or their families, or whether 
they are trying to sell them

868
00:35:48,266 --> 00:35:49,900
to make this into a business,

869
00:35:49,900 --> 00:35:52,200
it's good that you 
get two crops a year

870
00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:55,266
out of your protein source 
in the system.

871
00:35:55,266 --> 00:35:57,600
Now how does that differ?

872
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,100
Well, I'll talk about this 
facility in a few minutes.

873
00:36:00,100 --> 00:36:01,833
As Chris Cirmo mentioned,

874
00:36:01,833 --> 00:36:03,433
the University of 
Wisconsin-Stevens Point

875
00:36:03,433 --> 00:36:07,400
opened the Aquaponics Innovation 
Center this past April.

876
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:09,900
It was a really nice event 
that kind of blew me away,

877
00:36:09,900 --> 00:36:11,333
especially because 
we had three days

878
00:36:11,333 --> 00:36:13,533
where we opened the doors 
and said, come on in and see

879
00:36:13,533 --> 00:36:14,800
what it's all about.

880
00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:17,433
And in three days, we had 
700 people pass through

881
00:36:17,433 --> 00:36:20,533
the facility, who all wanted 
to know about aquaponics.

882
00:36:20,533 --> 00:36:22,900
So really, it showed to me 
there's a tremendous interest

883
00:36:22,900 --> 00:36:25,533
out there, but it also 
is kind of unique.

884
00:36:25,533 --> 00:36:27,900
It catches people's eyes 
as they walk through it.

885
00:36:27,900 --> 00:36:29,766
And then they would get 
kind of an excitement

886
00:36:29,766 --> 00:36:31,500
to get into it.

887
00:36:31,500 --> 00:36:33,366
One of the projects 
we're trying to do

888
00:36:33,366 --> 00:36:37,333
is we're trying to diversify 
that fish crop.

889
00:36:37,333 --> 00:36:39,733
Tilapia's good, it's forgiving.

890
00:36:39,733 --> 00:36:41,566
It grows fast.

891
00:36:41,566 --> 00:36:44,033
But if you wonder when you 
see tilapia in the stores

892
00:36:44,033 --> 00:36:46,433
and you see it on 
a restaurant menu,

893
00:36:46,433 --> 00:36:49,266
almost all the tilapia 
that you're consuming

894
00:36:49,266 --> 00:36:51,400
is a foreign import.

895
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:53,266
It comes from fish 
farms elsewhere.

896
00:36:53,266 --> 00:36:55,933
In fact, 90% of the tilapia 
consumed in the U.S.

897
00:36:55,933 --> 00:36:58,600
is foreign imports of tilapia.

898
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:00,433
And again, we kind of 
covered that a little bit.

899
00:37:00,433 --> 00:37:03,300
Who knows where's it's been, 
where it hung out last night,

900
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:05,366
and who it was drinking 
partner with during the course

901
00:37:05,366 --> 00:37:07,000
of that night.

902
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,033
What's in that 
tilapia at this point?

903
00:37:09,033 --> 00:37:10,933
We don't know it comes 
from a foreign country,

904
00:37:10,933 --> 00:37:15,100
and it probably has not been 
inspected by the FDA.

905
00:37:15,100 --> 00:37:17,266
So one of the things that the 
Aquaponics Innovation Center

906
00:37:17,266 --> 00:37:19,600
is to do is to 
diversify its fish crop.

907
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,400
And the angle we took 
from it is, well,

908
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,200
why are we not raising in 
these aquaponics systems

909
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:27,233
Wisconsin fish?

910
00:37:27,233 --> 00:37:29,400
We've got quite a 
number of fish here

911
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:30,966
that should grow 
well in captivity,

912
00:37:30,966 --> 00:37:32,466
so let's give it a try.

913
00:37:32,466 --> 00:37:35,733
And one of the fish that we 
started with here are Walleye.

914
00:37:35,733 --> 00:37:38,200
Walleye show up on a lot 
of menus around here,

915
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:40,333
especially on the 
Friday night fish fry,

916
00:37:40,333 --> 00:37:42,866
but it has always had 
kind of a draw back,

917
00:37:42,866 --> 00:37:45,166
and that is, is that Walleye 
have always been farmed

918
00:37:45,166 --> 00:37:46,400
in ponds.

919
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,566
And when you raise 
a fish in a pond,

920
00:37:48,566 --> 00:37:51,066
you suffer through this, 
what do you want to call it,

921
00:37:51,066 --> 00:37:53,400
four to six month 
period known as winter?

922
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:54,566
(chuckles)

923
00:37:54,566 --> 00:37:56,300
It really slows its growth down.

924
00:37:56,300 --> 00:37:59,433
So it generally takes 
a walleye farmer

925
00:37:59,433 --> 00:38:04,066
about one to two years 
to grow a walleye

926
00:38:04,066 --> 00:38:08,200
from a small size to even 
a one pound fish.

927
00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:10,700
So what we have done is, 
is we've moved them indoors

928
00:38:10,700 --> 00:38:12,466
into the aquaponics system.

929
00:38:12,466 --> 00:38:16,000
Now they're in a green house 
where they're growing 365 days

930
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:17,466
out of the year.

931
00:38:17,466 --> 00:38:19,500
And if you look at 
the blue and the purple line,

932
00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:21,233
this shows you the 
growth that we're getting

933
00:38:21,233 --> 00:38:24,533
between April, over a course 
of a year essentially,

934
00:38:24,533 --> 00:38:26,833
and we've been able to 
get a one and a half

935
00:38:26,833 --> 00:38:29,133
to one and three 
quarter-pound walleye

936
00:38:29,133 --> 00:38:32,166
to grow in a shorter 
period of about

937
00:38:32,166 --> 00:38:34,266
10 to 12 months.

938
00:38:34,266 --> 00:38:36,933
Now fish farmers, aquaculture 
growers, they like that.

939
00:38:36,933 --> 00:38:39,633
That's at least one 
product a year.

940
00:38:39,633 --> 00:38:41,466
But then we're taking 
it a step further,

941
00:38:41,466 --> 00:38:44,566
and we took these walleye 
and we basically mated them

942
00:38:44,566 --> 00:38:46,166
with their cousin, the sauger,

943
00:38:46,166 --> 00:38:48,700
and created what we 
call hybrid walleyes.

944
00:38:48,700 --> 00:38:50,533
Now somebody actually 
asked me the other day

945
00:38:50,533 --> 00:38:52,400
and they said, oh you're 
creating the infamous

946
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,166
Frankenfish.

947
00:38:54,166 --> 00:38:56,200
These are dangerous if 
they ever get out there.

948
00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:58,033
In this case, no we're not.

949
00:38:58,033 --> 00:39:00,000
Because you can go fish 
in the Mississippi River

950
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:01,800
and you can catch 
a hybrid walleye.

951
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:04,266
Sauger and walleye actually 
naturally reproduce

952
00:39:04,266 --> 00:39:05,933
with one another.

953
00:39:05,933 --> 00:39:08,000
So these fish exist in the wild.

954
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:09,633
We haven't created 
really anything new.

955
00:39:09,633 --> 00:39:11,566
We're just creating 
them in captivity.

956
00:39:11,566 --> 00:39:14,466
And then we added on here the 
green and the orange lines

957
00:39:14,466 --> 00:39:15,866
that are here.

958
00:39:15,866 --> 00:39:18,466
And what we've been able 
to do is these hybrid fish,

959
00:39:18,466 --> 00:39:20,466
these hybrid walleye, 
show advanced growth.

960
00:39:20,466 --> 00:39:23,066
So we've been able to get 
them to a one and a half

961
00:39:23,066 --> 00:39:26,566
to two pound walleye 
in nine months.

962
00:39:26,566 --> 00:39:28,966
And this is all in 
an aquaponics system.

963
00:39:28,966 --> 00:39:31,600
So we basically label these 
as our phase one, phase two

964
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:32,833
grow out periods.

965
00:39:32,833 --> 00:39:34,933
They start out this 
small, and over here,

966
00:39:34,933 --> 00:39:37,400
they're a two-pound fish, 
which is more than enough

967
00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:40,333
for a nice platter on a 
Friday night fish fry.

968
00:39:40,333 --> 00:39:42,800
Most of that brought 
about simply by moving

969
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,233
the whole process indoors 
into a green house.

970
00:39:46,233 --> 00:39:49,266
So we do think that there's 
potential for introducing

971
00:39:49,266 --> 00:39:51,633
more and more 
types of local fish

972
00:39:51,633 --> 00:39:53,966
into the aquaponics 
production system,

973
00:39:53,966 --> 00:39:57,466
and getting products out in 
as little as nine months,

974
00:39:57,466 --> 00:39:59,300
who knows, maybe if 
we try something else,

975
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:01,433
we could even lower that 
and get closer to that

976
00:40:01,433 --> 00:40:03,833
six-month threshold 
with tilapia.

977
00:40:03,833 --> 00:40:06,400
So the potential is there, 
and we have some early success

978
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:08,133
that's showing.

979
00:40:08,133 --> 00:40:10,100
And then on the 
other side of it,

980
00:40:10,100 --> 00:40:11,300
you've got to look at plants.

981
00:40:11,300 --> 00:40:12,900
Well, the nice thing 
about aquaponics is,

982
00:40:12,900 --> 00:40:14,700
is that you can raise 
pretty much any plant

983
00:40:14,700 --> 00:40:16,133
that you want to.

984
00:40:16,133 --> 00:40:18,533
I just put them into four 
major categories here,

985
00:40:18,533 --> 00:40:20,866
which is leafy 
greens, your lettuces,

986
00:40:20,866 --> 00:40:23,866
your micro-greens, which 
a lot of restaurants like.

987
00:40:23,866 --> 00:40:27,500
Then your rooting crops; then 
of course your fruiting crops.

988
00:40:27,500 --> 00:40:30,333
You can raise any one 
of them and all of them

989
00:40:30,333 --> 00:40:31,833
in any type of 
aquaponics system.

990
00:40:31,833 --> 00:40:33,833
The only thing you 
have to keep in mind

991
00:40:33,833 --> 00:40:35,333
is your expectations.

992
00:40:35,333 --> 00:40:38,500
What I can tell is, is that 
your leafy greens like lettuce,

993
00:40:38,500 --> 00:40:42,100
you can grow from a seed to 
a nice full head of lettuce

994
00:40:42,100 --> 00:40:44,400
in six weeks.

995
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:46,700
So that basically gives 
you a rapid turnaround

996
00:40:46,700 --> 00:40:48,566
for your crops in that system.

997
00:40:48,566 --> 00:40:50,366
The microgreens, even shorter.

998
00:40:50,366 --> 00:40:52,400
You need about two, 
two and a half weeks,

999
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:54,566
and you can get microgreens 
produced.

1000
00:40:54,566 --> 00:40:55,800
No problem there.

1001
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:57,766
It's your root crops 
and your fruit crops

1002
00:40:57,766 --> 00:40:59,966
that basically you've got to 
give them a little more time.

1003
00:40:59,966 --> 00:41:02,766
Root crops, whether 
they're radishes,

1004
00:41:02,766 --> 00:41:04,533
or onions can be grown in it,

1005
00:41:04,533 --> 00:41:06,600
but then you're talking about 
something more along the lines

1006
00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:09,700
of about 10 to 12 weeks that 
it's going to take them.

1007
00:41:09,700 --> 00:41:11,233
And of course, fruiting crops,

1008
00:41:11,233 --> 00:41:13,566
that's where you've got to 
let the plant mature first

1009
00:41:13,566 --> 00:41:15,700
and flower, and then you've 
got to let the flower

1010
00:41:15,700 --> 00:41:17,133
turn into the fruit.

1011
00:41:17,133 --> 00:41:19,033
So there you're looking 
at something that

1012
00:41:19,033 --> 00:41:20,633
could be as short 
as three months,

1013
00:41:20,633 --> 00:41:22,633
but more or less is 
usually on the same cycle

1014
00:41:22,633 --> 00:41:24,800
as the tilapia and that 
you'll get your crops

1015
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:26,733
every six months.

1016
00:41:26,733 --> 00:41:29,333
So they're all, 
possible in aquaponics,

1017
00:41:29,333 --> 00:41:31,166
it's just you have to 
set your expectations

1018
00:41:31,166 --> 00:41:33,233
where you expect to 
make those harvests

1019
00:41:33,233 --> 00:41:36,100
based on the plants 
that you're growing.

1020
00:41:36,100 --> 00:41:38,900
Now I wanted to 
bring it back to this,

1021
00:41:38,900 --> 00:41:42,233
and that is, is so you can 
grow any plant that you want.

1022
00:41:42,233 --> 00:41:45,033
True, but the way or the 
system of the aquaponics

1023
00:41:45,033 --> 00:41:48,733
that you raise them in has 
to be a little different.

1024
00:41:48,733 --> 00:41:51,233
There are three plant production 
systems in aquaponics.

1025
00:41:51,233 --> 00:41:54,800
The first one is known as 
the nutrient film technique.

1026
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:56,866
If you look at the 
picture over here,

1027
00:41:56,866 --> 00:42:00,000
it should look a little 
familiar from a previous slide.

1028
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:03,366
That is what they raise 
hydroponic crops in.

1029
00:42:03,366 --> 00:42:05,700
The concept is, is that 
you just have a gutter,

1030
00:42:05,700 --> 00:42:07,700
and in that gutter 
basically is pumped in

1031
00:42:07,700 --> 00:42:09,166
a little bit of water.

1032
00:42:09,166 --> 00:42:11,066
If you pop the top 
off of the gutter,

1033
00:42:11,066 --> 00:42:13,633
there's about a quarter to 
an eighth of an inch of water

1034
00:42:13,633 --> 00:42:15,733
streaming down the middle 
of that gutter.

1035
00:42:15,733 --> 00:42:19,633
The plants' roots basically 
kind of sway or flow into it

1036
00:42:19,633 --> 00:42:22,000
to pick up the nutrients.

1037
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,600
Why am I talking about 
nutrient film technique?

1038
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,500
Because it still 
exists in aquaponics

1039
00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:29,333
because it's the best way 
to get hydroponic growers

1040
00:42:29,333 --> 00:42:31,666
to convert over to 
aquaponics growers.

1041
00:42:31,666 --> 00:42:33,666
They already have 
the infrastructure,

1042
00:42:33,666 --> 00:42:35,500
they just have to 
add the fish into it

1043
00:42:35,500 --> 00:42:37,733
and stop adding in all 
those inorganic nutrients

1044
00:42:37,733 --> 00:42:40,000
into it instead.

1045
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,100
So it has a constant 
flow of water.

1046
00:42:42,100 --> 00:42:44,400
It has a really 
small amount of water

1047
00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:45,833
that has to flow 
through the system,

1048
00:42:45,833 --> 00:42:47,800
since it's only about 
a quarter to an eighth

1049
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:49,466
of an inch thick.

1050
00:42:49,466 --> 00:42:53,200
But the disadvantages to it, 
is that you need a biofilter.

1051
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:55,966
Because that water coming 
through it is so thin,

1052
00:42:55,966 --> 00:42:58,100
not only do the plant 
roots grow in it,

1053
00:42:58,100 --> 00:43:00,600
but a lot of algae tends 
to grow in it as well.

1054
00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:02,266
And you've got to 
filter out that algae,

1055
00:43:02,266 --> 00:43:04,500
or they'll use up all 
the nutrients right away,

1056
00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:06,833
and then your plants will 
basically just start to die off.

1057
00:43:06,833 --> 00:43:08,800
So you have to have 
some biofilter.

1058
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:10,733
The other is, is that 
you get lower yields

1059
00:43:10,733 --> 00:43:12,866
from the other systems 
that I'll show you

1060
00:43:12,866 --> 00:43:15,000
because the plants are 
nice and evenly spaced,

1061
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,833
but you're limited by the 
length of these gutters.

1062
00:43:17,833 --> 00:43:20,700
The other is, is if you 
actually wanted to do aquaponics

1063
00:43:20,700 --> 00:43:23,133
with nutrient film 
technique, you'd have to buy

1064
00:43:23,133 --> 00:43:25,733
the hydroponic components 
or infrastructure,

1065
00:43:25,733 --> 00:43:28,333
and they tend to be very pricey.

1066
00:43:28,333 --> 00:43:30,833
So you would have a 
higher startup cost there.

1067
00:43:30,833 --> 00:43:34,900
And overall, the system 
is of a low stability.

1068
00:43:34,900 --> 00:43:37,533
And the reason for that is, 
is that it has the least

1069
00:43:37,533 --> 00:43:39,700
amount of water in it 
compared to the other systems

1070
00:43:39,700 --> 00:43:42,333
I'll show you because they 
only have that quarter inch

1071
00:43:42,333 --> 00:43:44,733
of water flowing by the plants.

1072
00:43:44,733 --> 00:43:46,933
So if you were to add 
a little bit of this

1073
00:43:46,933 --> 00:43:48,566
or a little bit of 
that and then too much

1074
00:43:48,566 --> 00:43:50,600
of a third component, 
there's too much of it

1075
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:52,033
flowing through everything.

1076
00:43:52,033 --> 00:43:55,000
It doesn't get dilute 
within the system.

1077
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:56,800
The other is, is 
that these plants,

1078
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:59,400
because they're at a low density 
and you have such little water,

1079
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:01,533
the nutrient uptake 
is relatively low,

1080
00:44:01,533 --> 00:44:05,533
which means nutrient-rich 
water is returning back

1081
00:44:05,533 --> 00:44:07,900
to your fish, and they 
can only withstand that

1082
00:44:07,900 --> 00:44:09,700
for a while before 
they start to suffer

1083
00:44:09,700 --> 00:44:12,633
due to polluted 
water conditions.

1084
00:44:12,633 --> 00:44:14,433
So like I said, 
nutrient film technique,

1085
00:44:14,433 --> 00:44:17,900
generally a holdover 
from hydroponics.

1086
00:44:17,900 --> 00:44:19,966
But some people like 
it because it's clean,

1087
00:44:19,966 --> 00:44:22,233
it's compact, it fits 
into a nice space,

1088
00:44:22,233 --> 00:44:25,033
and doesn't require 
really that much water.

1089
00:44:26,033 --> 00:44:29,600
Another type is referred to 
as the media grow beds.

1090
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:31,966
And media grow beds, 
as you can see here,

1091
00:44:31,966 --> 00:44:34,833
are essentially large channels

1092
00:44:34,833 --> 00:44:37,366
in which some type 
of media or substrate

1093
00:44:37,366 --> 00:44:39,366
is put into the bottom of it.

1094
00:44:39,366 --> 00:44:42,566
There's really only one 
requirement for that substrate,

1095
00:44:42,566 --> 00:44:46,266
and that is, is that it must 
not dissolve in water.

1096
00:44:46,266 --> 00:44:48,400
Because the only thing 
the substrate is doing,

1097
00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:51,233
is it's providing a surface 
for the roots of the plants

1098
00:44:51,233 --> 00:44:52,966
to grab on to.

1099
00:44:52,966 --> 00:44:54,733
So where we see 
media-based systems,

1100
00:44:54,733 --> 00:44:56,666
and you can see it 
in this picture here,

1101
00:44:56,666 --> 00:44:58,566
is where you get tall plants.

1102
00:44:58,566 --> 00:45:01,333
Tall plants need 
strong root structures,

1103
00:45:01,333 --> 00:45:03,933
and they hold on to the 
substrate and the media

1104
00:45:03,933 --> 00:45:05,500
that's down there.

1105
00:45:05,500 --> 00:45:07,800
So if you start talking about 
growing things, like I said,

1106
00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:11,000
corn, tomatoes, cucumbers,

1107
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:12,800
you're going to want 
a media-based system

1108
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:17,366
because these plants need 
to dig in to grow up.

1109
00:45:17,366 --> 00:45:19,166
As I put up here, 
the advantages is,

1110
00:45:19,166 --> 00:45:22,700
the media that's in here 
acts as the biofilter.

1111
00:45:22,700 --> 00:45:25,366
As the water flows through 
pipes in the system,

1112
00:45:25,366 --> 00:45:27,100
that basically rains water out,

1113
00:45:27,100 --> 00:45:30,033
it's carrying some of 
those waste products,

1114
00:45:30,033 --> 00:45:33,100
fish manure in them, and 
they'll land in that media,

1115
00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:34,733
and the media will 
cling on to them,

1116
00:45:34,733 --> 00:45:36,733
and then have 
decomposition take place

1117
00:45:36,733 --> 00:45:39,000
right in the media bed.

1118
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,333
So the solids are actually 
found in the media,

1119
00:45:41,333 --> 00:45:44,266
but the other thing you find 
is that if you dig in there,

1120
00:45:44,266 --> 00:45:47,000
and bring it up, you'll not 
only come up with a handful

1121
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:50,100
of media, but you'll come up 
with a handful of fish manure.

1122
00:45:50,100 --> 00:45:53,833
And what's there as well are 
the bacteria breaking it down.

1123
00:45:53,833 --> 00:45:56,100
So instead of having 
a mineralization tank,

1124
00:45:56,100 --> 00:45:58,900
you actually have bacteria 
growing down the bottom

1125
00:45:58,900 --> 00:46:01,133
of these media-based beds.

1126
00:46:01,133 --> 00:46:03,300
That helps compact the 
space a little bit.

1127
00:46:03,300 --> 00:46:05,966
The disadvantages is, is 
that you need a lot of water

1128
00:46:05,966 --> 00:46:08,566
flowing through the system.

1129
00:46:08,566 --> 00:46:10,433
You also have 
difficulties when it comes

1130
00:46:10,433 --> 00:46:11,900
to maintenance and cleaning.

1131
00:46:11,900 --> 00:46:14,933
As I just said, dig your 
hand down into that media,

1132
00:46:14,933 --> 00:46:17,033
and you'll come up with 
fish manure and bacteria.

1133
00:46:17,033 --> 00:46:19,000
A lot of people don't 
like the odor of that.

1134
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:20,233
They don't like 
the sight of that.

1135
00:46:20,233 --> 00:46:21,633
Well, if you want 
to clean it out,

1136
00:46:21,633 --> 00:46:23,366
you pretty much have 
to remove your plants,

1137
00:46:23,366 --> 00:46:25,900
hose down the 
media, wash it out,

1138
00:46:25,900 --> 00:46:28,600
re-plant your plants and 
start all over again.

1139
00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:30,800
So there's a high maintenance 
cost when it comes to

1140
00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:32,433
these media-based systems.

1141
00:46:32,433 --> 00:46:34,566
And obviously here, as 
you get those solids

1142
00:46:34,566 --> 00:46:37,000
from the fish manure 
building up in here,

1143
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,033
you can get clumps 
of these manure,

1144
00:46:39,033 --> 00:46:41,833
which then basically channels 
the water through the system.

1145
00:46:41,833 --> 00:46:43,733
And if your plants are 
not growing anywhere

1146
00:46:43,733 --> 00:46:45,400
near the channel, 
they start to droop

1147
00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:48,766
because they're not getting 
all the water that they need.

1148
00:46:48,766 --> 00:46:51,433
On the flip side of it, is 
that the nutrient uptake

1149
00:46:51,433 --> 00:46:53,133
by the plants is very high.

1150
00:46:53,133 --> 00:46:56,000
They're sitting right 
there amongst the bacteria

1151
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,800
having the conversion of 
the nutrients done for them,

1152
00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:00,800
and they immediately 
take up the nutrients.

1153
00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:03,666
So there's a rapid uptake of 
nutrients in these systems,

1154
00:47:03,666 --> 00:47:06,400
and you get fairly rapid 
growth of all these

1155
00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:09,600
different types of plants 
that you're trying to grow.

1156
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:12,366
And then that brings 
us to the third type,

1157
00:47:12,366 --> 00:47:14,333
which is known as the 
deep water culture,

1158
00:47:14,333 --> 00:47:16,800
or also known as 
the raft system.

1159
00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:19,666
As more of a fish biologist 
than a plant grower,

1160
00:47:19,666 --> 00:47:21,700
I always laugh when I 
see deep water culture,

1161
00:47:21,700 --> 00:47:24,333
because these are basically 
what they refer to

1162
00:47:24,333 --> 00:47:26,533
as large ponds or pools 
that you're going to put

1163
00:47:26,533 --> 00:47:27,700
the plants in.

1164
00:47:27,700 --> 00:47:29,800
They're a foot deep.

1165
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:32,400
Maybe for a botanist, 
that's a deep water culture.

1166
00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:35,000
For a fish biologist, 
I'm thinking thirty, 
forty-feet deep.

1167
00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:36,333
(laughs)

1168
00:47:36,333 --> 00:47:38,466
So essentially, 
they're a foot deep.

1169
00:47:38,466 --> 00:47:40,300
Where they get 
their raft name from

1170
00:47:40,300 --> 00:47:43,033
is that you have Styrofoam 
rafts that literally float

1171
00:47:43,033 --> 00:47:44,566
on top of that water,

1172
00:47:44,566 --> 00:47:47,533
and your plants are planted 
in holes that poke through

1173
00:47:47,533 --> 00:47:49,333
the styrofoam.

1174
00:47:49,333 --> 00:47:53,233
The roots dangle down into this 
deep pool full of nutrients,

1175
00:47:53,233 --> 00:47:56,233
and the plants grow on the 
top side of that.

1176
00:47:56,233 --> 00:47:59,133
It's probably the most 
common system in aquaponics

1177
00:47:59,133 --> 00:48:02,866
for raising the plants because 
you can build these rafts

1178
00:48:02,866 --> 00:48:05,200
of any different sizes.

1179
00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:08,200
It's easy to float foam 
right on top of the water.

1180
00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:10,933
And the other thing, as 
you can see in the picture,

1181
00:48:10,933 --> 00:48:13,666
it's primarily used for 
growing the leafy greens.

1182
00:48:13,666 --> 00:48:15,600
The ones that have a 
six-week turnaround

1183
00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:17,733
from seed to harvest.

1184
00:48:17,733 --> 00:48:19,566
You can probably also 
see the drawback.

1185
00:48:19,566 --> 00:48:22,166
I mean, why do they not use 
these for growing tomato plants?

1186
00:48:22,166 --> 00:48:24,366
Well, the roots would grow 
down into the deep water,

1187
00:48:24,366 --> 00:48:26,100
the plant would 
grow up on the top,

1188
00:48:26,100 --> 00:48:29,333
as soon as the plant's top 
growth is bigger than the roots,

1189
00:48:29,333 --> 00:48:31,166
it would flip over.

1190
00:48:31,166 --> 00:48:33,533
Because it's just 
floating as a raft.

1191
00:48:33,533 --> 00:48:36,500
So they use shorter growing 
plants such as the microgreens

1192
00:48:36,500 --> 00:48:38,633
and the leafy greens.

1193
00:48:38,633 --> 00:48:41,600
There's a constant flow 
of water going through it.

1194
00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:44,300
You don't have to have an 
enormous amount of water.

1195
00:48:44,300 --> 00:48:46,700
It basically sits in these 
pools until the water

1196
00:48:46,700 --> 00:48:48,600
gets replenished by a pump.

1197
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:50,566
And it's easy to 
maintain and clean

1198
00:48:50,566 --> 00:48:53,700
because you literally 
just lift up the rafts,

1199
00:48:53,700 --> 00:48:54,966
scrub them down.

1200
00:48:54,966 --> 00:48:57,900
If the deep water looks 
dirty, you flush it out.

1201
00:48:57,900 --> 00:49:00,533
You fill it with more water 
and you seal it back up again

1202
00:49:00,533 --> 00:49:01,866
and it's all ready to grow.

1203
00:49:01,866 --> 00:49:04,600
And you can do that in 
an hour or so.

1204
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,233
You may need a biofilter.

1205
00:49:07,233 --> 00:49:09,266
Another nice thing about 
it is the bacteria,

1206
00:49:09,266 --> 00:49:11,200
those beneficial bacteria 
really like to grow

1207
00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:13,333
in these deep water cultures.

1208
00:49:13,333 --> 00:49:14,933
But sometimes, it's not enough.

1209
00:49:14,933 --> 00:49:16,433
You need more of the bacteria.

1210
00:49:16,433 --> 00:49:18,533
So you may actually have 
to have one of those

1211
00:49:18,533 --> 00:49:20,466
mineralization tanks.

1212
00:49:20,466 --> 00:49:23,100
There is a large volume 
of water going through it.

1213
00:49:23,100 --> 00:49:24,966
You can also aerate the roots,

1214
00:49:24,966 --> 00:49:26,933
so that you get 
healthy root growth,

1215
00:49:26,933 --> 00:49:29,333
which usually leads to 
healthy leafy growth,

1216
00:49:29,333 --> 00:49:32,400
and the nutrient uptake by the 
plants is really, really high

1217
00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:33,733
in these systems.

1218
00:49:33,733 --> 00:49:35,766
So again, they are 
the most common.

1219
00:49:35,766 --> 00:49:37,866
They're the most talked 
about and studied

1220
00:49:37,866 --> 00:49:40,533
not only because they seem 
to be the most efficient

1221
00:49:40,533 --> 00:49:42,300
and productive, but 
on the flip side,

1222
00:49:42,300 --> 00:49:44,066
you have to look at it and say,

1223
00:49:44,066 --> 00:49:46,066
I can't grow all the 
different crops I want.

1224
00:49:46,066 --> 00:49:48,033
I can only grow those 
that will float on top

1225
00:49:48,033 --> 00:49:50,133
of these rafts and not 
turn the thing over

1226
00:49:50,133 --> 00:49:54,066
and drown out all your plants.

1227
00:49:54,066 --> 00:49:55,666
Now I didn't forget about them,

1228
00:49:55,666 --> 00:49:57,500
and I wanted to come 
back and that is,

1229
00:49:57,500 --> 00:50:00,166
whether you call them 
beneficial bacteria

1230
00:50:00,166 --> 00:50:02,566
or you call them 
aquaponic biofilm,

1231
00:50:02,566 --> 00:50:05,600
you have to remember that if 
you're an aquaponic producer,

1232
00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:07,933
you're growing the fish and 
you're growing the plants,

1233
00:50:07,933 --> 00:50:11,100
which you can see, but you're 
also cultivating bacteria.

1234
00:50:11,100 --> 00:50:13,833
Before you look at that and 
say, wow, those bacteria

1235
00:50:13,833 --> 00:50:15,400
they look fascinating.

1236
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:17,066
No, that's just plastic.

1237
00:50:17,066 --> 00:50:18,400
The brown, goopy stuff?

1238
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:19,966
That's the bacteria.

1239
00:50:21,033 --> 00:50:24,166
All the plastic does is, 
is that if you didn't give

1240
00:50:24,166 --> 00:50:25,833
the bacteria something 
to hold on to,

1241
00:50:25,833 --> 00:50:28,266
it would be going 
on a water park ride

1242
00:50:28,266 --> 00:50:30,400
all throughout your 
aquaponics system

1243
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:31,900
and suffering pretty bad.

1244
00:50:31,900 --> 00:50:34,300
You want them to sit still 
and you want them to do

1245
00:50:34,300 --> 00:50:35,800
the conversions that you want,

1246
00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:39,266
so you just give them things 
like plastic to hold on to.

1247
00:50:39,266 --> 00:50:41,333
And then they'll stay in 
your filtration systems

1248
00:50:41,333 --> 00:50:43,866
or your filtration tanks.

1249
00:50:43,866 --> 00:50:45,300
What are they?

1250
00:50:45,300 --> 00:50:47,266
Well, there's their official 
name in case you wanted

1251
00:50:47,266 --> 00:50:51,233
to memorize it for the quiz 
after the presentation.

1252
00:50:51,233 --> 00:50:53,666
Nitrifying autotrophic 
bacteria consortium.

1253
00:50:53,666 --> 00:50:55,466
Sounds intimidating, actually.

1254
00:50:55,466 --> 00:50:56,633
(laughs)

1255
00:50:56,633 --> 00:50:58,866
It's made up of two groups: 
the nitroso-bacteria

1256
00:50:58,866 --> 00:51:00,766
and the nitro-bacteria.

1257
00:51:00,766 --> 00:51:02,100
What do they do?

1258
00:51:02,100 --> 00:51:04,933
Well, as I mentioned 
before, fish give off a lot

1259
00:51:04,933 --> 00:51:07,166
of their waste in 
the form of ammonia.

1260
00:51:07,166 --> 00:51:08,733
What do we know about ammonia?

1261
00:51:08,733 --> 00:51:12,733
It's highly toxic to fish, 
and it's very toxic to plants.

1262
00:51:12,733 --> 00:51:15,766
That would shut down your 
aquaponics system in an instant.

1263
00:51:15,766 --> 00:51:18,800
So instead, your 
nitroso-bacteria group

1264
00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:22,033
essentially converts 
it to nitrite,

1265
00:51:22,033 --> 00:51:24,866
an important step because 
fish are a lot more tolerant

1266
00:51:24,866 --> 00:51:27,833
to nitrite, and some plants 
don't mind taking up nitrite

1267
00:51:27,833 --> 00:51:31,033
and they do further conversion 
in their roots to nitrate.

1268
00:51:31,033 --> 00:51:34,666
But luckily, we have the 
nitro-bacteria here as well,

1269
00:51:34,666 --> 00:51:38,366
and they complete the conversion 
of nitrite to nitrate.

1270
00:51:38,366 --> 00:51:40,100
What's beneficial about that?

1271
00:51:40,100 --> 00:51:42,500
That's the form of nitrogen 
that plants will readily

1272
00:51:42,500 --> 00:51:45,733
uptake and automatically 
put it into actual growth.

1273
00:51:45,733 --> 00:51:48,766
And the other thing is, 
is fish are very tolerant

1274
00:51:48,766 --> 00:51:50,533
of high nitrate levels.

1275
00:51:50,533 --> 00:51:52,333
So if they do build 
up in your system

1276
00:51:52,333 --> 00:51:54,200
because the plants aren't 
taking the nitrates up

1277
00:51:54,200 --> 00:51:55,933
fast enough, it doesn't matter.

1278
00:51:55,933 --> 00:51:58,300
It's just like water 
over the fish's back.

1279
00:51:58,300 --> 00:52:00,866
It'll just pass right 
by them in the water.

1280
00:52:00,866 --> 00:52:05,166
It's not toxic to them, except 
at extremely high levels,

1281
00:52:05,166 --> 00:52:07,200
which are usually 
never achieved.

1282
00:52:07,200 --> 00:52:08,466
So always keep that in mind.

1283
00:52:08,466 --> 00:52:10,400
If you ever visit an 
aquaponics facility,

1284
00:52:10,400 --> 00:52:12,400
most of the growers will 
show off their fish,

1285
00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:13,766
they'll show you 
the little ones,

1286
00:52:13,766 --> 00:52:15,100
they'll show you the big ones

1287
00:52:15,100 --> 00:52:16,800
and they'll say, look at 
the growth we're getting.

1288
00:52:16,800 --> 00:52:18,666
Then they'll show you the 
plants and they'll say,

1289
00:52:18,666 --> 00:52:20,333
do you want to try 
some and taste it?

1290
00:52:20,333 --> 00:52:21,666
Now you know the secret,

1291
00:52:21,666 --> 00:52:24,033
walk up to them and say, yeah, 
that's all well and good,

1292
00:52:24,033 --> 00:52:26,000
but show me the real 
stars of the system.

1293
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:27,766
Show me the bacteria.

1294
00:52:27,766 --> 00:52:29,700
They'll probably either 
look at you very funny

1295
00:52:29,700 --> 00:52:31,533
or kick you out. 
(laughs)

1296
00:52:31,533 --> 00:52:33,000
But they'll immediately know,

1297
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:35,333
you know a lot about 
aquaponics at that point,

1298
00:52:35,333 --> 00:52:37,333
because that's really 
the star of the system.

1299
00:52:37,333 --> 00:52:40,100
Without their conversion, 
the whole system of fish

1300
00:52:40,100 --> 00:52:41,866
and plants doesn't work.

1301
00:52:44,433 --> 00:52:46,266
And that basically 
brings full circle,

1302
00:52:46,266 --> 00:52:48,400
this aquaponics cycle.

1303
00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:51,533
It's a symbiotic 
relationship, as you now know,

1304
00:52:51,533 --> 00:52:54,800
between fish, microorganisms 
and plants.

1305
00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:57,333
Each one of them feeding 
off of the next one

1306
00:52:57,333 --> 00:53:00,300
and replenishing the water 
in the system.

1307
00:53:00,300 --> 00:53:02,133
The other aspect about it,

1308
00:53:02,133 --> 00:53:04,066
and I've heard so many 
talks by different

1309
00:53:04,066 --> 00:53:06,400
aquaponics scientists, 
is they said,

1310
00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:09,433
aquaculture has some drawbacks.

1311
00:53:09,433 --> 00:53:12,133
Especially if you talk 
about recycling aquaculture.

1312
00:53:12,133 --> 00:53:13,500
Well, why is that?

1313
00:53:13,500 --> 00:53:14,733
We just covered it.

1314
00:53:14,733 --> 00:53:17,266
Fish produce ammonia, 
which is toxic to them.

1315
00:53:17,266 --> 00:53:20,266
So aquaculture spends an 
enormous amount of time

1316
00:53:20,266 --> 00:53:23,666
either mechanically or 
chemically trying to get ammonia

1317
00:53:23,666 --> 00:53:25,100
out of the system.

1318
00:53:25,100 --> 00:53:26,766
And it's a tough thing to do.

1319
00:53:26,766 --> 00:53:29,333
On the hydroponics side,

1320
00:53:29,333 --> 00:53:31,566
the negative part is, is 
you're totally dependent

1321
00:53:31,566 --> 00:53:36,133
upon industrialized or 
mined minerals and nutrients

1322
00:53:36,133 --> 00:53:38,333
to put into your system.

1323
00:53:38,333 --> 00:53:41,366
If the shipment comes late, 
or if the price goes up,

1324
00:53:41,366 --> 00:53:43,600
it impacts your 
hydroponic system.

1325
00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:45,866
But if you take the 
best of those worlds,

1326
00:53:45,866 --> 00:53:47,800
the fish and the plants, 
put them together

1327
00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:49,966
with the bacteria, 
all of a sudden,

1328
00:53:49,966 --> 00:53:53,966
everything seems to hit this 
symbiosis or equilibrium.

1329
00:53:53,966 --> 00:53:55,733
The fish are producing 
the minerals,

1330
00:53:55,733 --> 00:53:57,966
the minerals are 
converted by the bacteria,

1331
00:53:57,966 --> 00:53:59,966
the plants absorb the minerals,

1332
00:53:59,966 --> 00:54:02,900
and the water goes right 
back to the fish.

1333
00:54:02,900 --> 00:54:06,633
And most aquaculturists, 
most aquaponic growers

1334
00:54:06,633 --> 00:54:08,033
will look at you and you'll say,

1335
00:54:08,033 --> 00:54:09,433
well how is that possible?

1336
00:54:09,433 --> 00:54:12,766
And they said, I don't know, 
it just happens.

1337
00:54:12,766 --> 00:54:14,866
It's amazing how the 
three of these organisms,

1338
00:54:14,866 --> 00:54:17,033
or group of organisms, 
relate to one another

1339
00:54:17,033 --> 00:54:18,666
and help each other out.

1340
00:54:18,666 --> 00:54:21,500
I put together a 
little slide here,

1341
00:54:21,500 --> 00:54:23,100
and these are some 
of the answers

1342
00:54:23,100 --> 00:54:24,600
I've heard these experts say.

1343
00:54:24,600 --> 00:54:26,200
They've said, why 
does it work?

1344
00:54:26,200 --> 00:54:28,800
As a scientist, you can't 
just sit there and say,

1345
00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:31,400
wow that sounds great, it's 
a symbiotic relationship,

1346
00:54:31,400 --> 00:54:33,700
let's all watch 
them sing Kumbaya,

1347
00:54:33,700 --> 00:54:36,766
and everybody will grow nicely.

1348
00:54:36,766 --> 00:54:39,733
But scientists say, but 
why does it work.

1349
00:54:39,733 --> 00:54:42,200
Well, one of the things 
is, is that you get this

1350
00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:45,666
optimal ratio between the 
fish and the plants.

1351
00:54:45,666 --> 00:54:48,800
It's based upon that 
nutrient uptake.

1352
00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:50,733
I put this little table 
together over here

1353
00:54:50,733 --> 00:54:52,900
because as a scientist, I 
want to know the answers

1354
00:54:52,900 --> 00:54:54,833
to why it works.

1355
00:54:54,833 --> 00:54:58,433
What I did was, is I took a 
label off of a bag of fish food.

1356
00:54:58,433 --> 00:55:00,366
And those are the 
ingredients that they listed

1357
00:55:00,366 --> 00:55:01,600
on that label.

1358
00:55:01,600 --> 00:55:04,466
And then I picked out 
my book on plant growth

1359
00:55:04,466 --> 00:55:06,633
and horticulture, 
and I put down a list

1360
00:55:06,633 --> 00:55:08,966
of all the minerals and 
nutrients that a plant

1361
00:55:08,966 --> 00:55:10,466
needs to grow.

1362
00:55:10,466 --> 00:55:12,866
Just take a look at that list.

1363
00:55:12,866 --> 00:55:17,200
All the same, until you get 
down to this level right here.

1364
00:55:17,200 --> 00:55:19,633
Now one of them I 
highlighted on the bottom,

1365
00:55:19,633 --> 00:55:22,133
that is plants need nitrogen 
while fish waste contains

1366
00:55:22,133 --> 00:55:24,733
protein, protein is 
made up of nitrogen,

1367
00:55:24,733 --> 00:55:26,633
so the plants are 
getting the nitrogen.

1368
00:55:26,633 --> 00:55:28,733
So it's really this 
little group here.

1369
00:55:28,733 --> 00:55:31,000
The plants are not getting 
all the boron, molybdenum

1370
00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:33,133
and sulphur that they 
could possibly want

1371
00:55:33,133 --> 00:55:35,200
that you would have to monitor.

1372
00:55:35,200 --> 00:55:37,700
Well, the nice thing is, is 
those three have asterisks

1373
00:55:37,700 --> 00:55:40,200
because they're 
micro-nutrients for plants.

1374
00:55:40,200 --> 00:55:42,900
In other words, they need 
trace quantities.

1375
00:55:42,900 --> 00:55:45,400
And it actually turns out 
that there may be a chance

1376
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:47,366
that the water you're 
putting into the system,

1377
00:55:47,366 --> 00:55:50,166
say, from a well, already 
contains trace quantities

1378
00:55:50,166 --> 00:55:52,633
of these micro-nutrients.

1379
00:55:52,633 --> 00:55:55,700
So there have been very 
little studies or reports

1380
00:55:55,700 --> 00:55:58,566
that have come out that have 
said aquaponics didn't work

1381
00:55:58,566 --> 00:56:01,933
because my boron or 
molybdenum was too low.

1382
00:56:01,933 --> 00:56:03,533
Most people find it 
actually finds its way

1383
00:56:03,533 --> 00:56:04,866
into the system.

1384
00:56:04,866 --> 00:56:06,633
There have been a 
couple that have said

1385
00:56:06,633 --> 00:56:08,766
you may have to supplement 
just little trace quantities

1386
00:56:08,766 --> 00:56:11,233
of sulphur into the system, 
but it really depends

1387
00:56:11,233 --> 00:56:13,766
upon what fish you're 
growing since the source

1388
00:56:13,766 --> 00:56:16,433
is the fish food for 
these nutrients.

1389
00:56:16,433 --> 00:56:18,900
This is tilapia food, 
there are some fish foods

1390
00:56:18,900 --> 00:56:20,866
that have a little 
bit of sulphur in them

1391
00:56:20,866 --> 00:56:22,866
so they may be 
getting it anyhow.

1392
00:56:22,866 --> 00:56:25,100
And if you're wondering, the 
cobalt, selenium and iodine,

1393
00:56:25,100 --> 00:56:27,566
those are trace elements 
in fish food anyhow,

1394
00:56:27,566 --> 00:56:30,133
so they're not accumulating 
within the system.

1395
00:56:30,133 --> 00:56:32,966
The plants aren't using 
them, and they probably,

1396
00:56:32,966 --> 00:56:35,233
through evaporation, through 
cleaning of the system,

1397
00:56:35,233 --> 00:56:37,633
you'll probably flush 
them out anyhow.

1398
00:56:37,633 --> 00:56:39,766
So that's one aspect of it.

1399
00:56:39,766 --> 00:56:42,900
Again, what they find is, 
is that for aquaponics

1400
00:56:42,900 --> 00:56:45,900
to work efficiently, you 
have to feed about 60

1401
00:56:45,900 --> 00:56:48,833
to 100 grams of 
fish food per day

1402
00:56:48,833 --> 00:56:52,033
to a square meter of 
plants that you're growing

1403
00:56:52,033 --> 00:56:53,400
within the system.

1404
00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:55,900
Turns out that if you 
compare that to aquaculture,

1405
00:56:55,900 --> 00:56:57,833
that's actually a 
really low feeding rate.

1406
00:56:57,833 --> 00:57:00,433
So technically, you 
can underfeed your fish

1407
00:57:00,433 --> 00:57:03,066
in an aquaponics system 
and still get abundant

1408
00:57:03,066 --> 00:57:04,500
plant growth.

1409
00:57:04,500 --> 00:57:06,300
Now I'm not saying 
you should do that

1410
00:57:06,300 --> 00:57:08,133
because you probably also 
want to harvest your fish

1411
00:57:08,133 --> 00:57:09,566
after a while.

1412
00:57:09,566 --> 00:57:11,933
So you're probably feeding 
the fish all they need,

1413
00:57:11,933 --> 00:57:13,566
and the plants are actually 
getting an abundance

1414
00:57:13,566 --> 00:57:16,233
of nutrients that they need.

1415
00:57:16,233 --> 00:57:18,466
But that right 
balance as I mentioned

1416
00:57:18,466 --> 00:57:20,700
is really based upon 
a couple of things.

1417
00:57:20,700 --> 00:57:22,466
The types of fish 
that you're growing,

1418
00:57:22,466 --> 00:57:26,066
the plant growth 
platform, whether it 
was the nutrient film,

1419
00:57:26,066 --> 00:57:28,600
the media-based or the raft,

1420
00:57:28,600 --> 00:57:30,966
as well as the type of plant.

1421
00:57:30,966 --> 00:57:33,066
Some plants such as 
your flowering plants

1422
00:57:33,066 --> 00:57:36,300
won't actually set fruit 
unless they have higher

1423
00:57:36,300 --> 00:57:39,400
or elevated levels of 
nitrate in the system.

1424
00:57:39,400 --> 00:57:41,966
So you may actually have to 
increase your fish feeding

1425
00:57:41,966 --> 00:57:43,666
to get that spike in nitrate

1426
00:57:43,666 --> 00:57:45,400
and then your flowering 
plants will suddenly start

1427
00:57:45,400 --> 00:57:47,100
to grow their fruits on them.

1428
00:57:47,100 --> 00:57:50,000
And then it also depends on 
your chemical composition

1429
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:51,433
of the water.

1430
00:57:51,433 --> 00:57:53,266
Again, where are you getting 
your water source from?

1431
00:57:53,266 --> 00:57:56,100
Does it have boron, molybdenum 
or suplhur already in it,

1432
00:57:56,100 --> 00:57:58,700
So it's always good to get 
a water chemistry test done

1433
00:57:58,700 --> 00:58:00,500
of your well water to figure out

1434
00:58:00,500 --> 00:58:04,000
what all the compounds are 
that are inside of it.

1435
00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:07,266
And again, the study we're 
doing now with those walleye,

1436
00:58:07,266 --> 00:58:09,700
to me, is going to be 
an intriguing study.

1437
00:58:09,700 --> 00:58:12,300
Because tilapia are more 
kind of like the herbivores,

1438
00:58:12,300 --> 00:58:14,966
but walleye are 
obviously carnivores.

1439
00:58:14,966 --> 00:58:17,766
Therefore, what's in their 
diet or in their fish food

1440
00:58:17,766 --> 00:58:19,666
is dramatically different 
between the two of them.

1441
00:58:19,666 --> 00:58:21,600
I wish I could stand 
here and show you,

1442
00:58:21,600 --> 00:58:22,833
now here's the results,

1443
00:58:22,833 --> 00:58:25,133
but our walleye are now 
four months old.

1444
00:58:25,133 --> 00:58:27,533
And I told you they have 
to grow 10 to 12 months,

1445
00:58:27,533 --> 00:58:30,233
and we've been harvesting 
plants out of the system

1446
00:58:30,233 --> 00:58:32,533
at actually the same 
rate as the tilapia.

1447
00:58:32,533 --> 00:58:34,700
So it appears the plants 
are getting what they need,

1448
00:58:34,700 --> 00:58:36,900
but we're kind of looking 
to see if their nutrient

1449
00:58:36,900 --> 00:58:38,033
composition is a 
little different.

1450
00:58:38,033 --> 00:58:39,566
You'll just have 
stay tuned for that,

1451
00:58:39,566 --> 00:58:41,066
we still got at least 
another six months

1452
00:58:41,066 --> 00:58:43,300
before we've got the results 
from that to share with you.

1453
00:58:43,300 --> 00:58:45,200
And then the other 
part I mentioned is,

1454
00:58:45,200 --> 00:58:48,333
is that it allows for 
year-round farming.

1455
00:58:48,333 --> 00:58:50,000
And that shouldn't be ignored.

1456
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:52,066
If you're living 
down, say, in Florida,

1457
00:58:52,066 --> 00:58:54,633
they already do year-round 
agricultural production

1458
00:58:54,633 --> 00:58:55,866
down there.

1459
00:58:55,866 --> 00:58:57,600
But as I said, how 
nice would it be

1460
00:58:57,600 --> 00:59:00,133
to walk into a greenhouse 
in the middle of January

1461
00:59:00,133 --> 00:59:02,733
or February in Wisconsin 
and hand-pick your fresh,

1462
00:59:02,733 --> 00:59:05,166
well, I shy away from 
picking cucumbers,

1463
00:59:05,166 --> 00:59:08,366
but your hand-picked 
tomatoes or your corn

1464
00:59:08,366 --> 00:59:11,166
or your peppers that 
are growing right there

1465
00:59:11,166 --> 00:59:13,966
in the middle of February 
in this tropical environment

1466
00:59:13,966 --> 00:59:15,500
in the middle of Wisconsin?

1467
00:59:15,500 --> 00:59:17,100
So it has a lot 
of potential there

1468
00:59:17,100 --> 00:59:19,333
to get people back to 
eating their fresh fruits

1469
00:59:19,333 --> 00:59:21,700
and vegetables in 
the middle of winter,

1470
00:59:21,700 --> 00:59:23,600
that were grown right next door.

1471
00:59:23,600 --> 00:59:27,900
And again, I don't want to 
make it sound like aquaponics

1472
00:59:27,900 --> 00:59:29,966
is the savior of all.

1473
00:59:29,966 --> 00:59:32,733
Aquaponics is a compromise.

1474
00:59:32,733 --> 00:59:35,266
Again, putting the 
major players up there.

1475
00:59:35,266 --> 00:59:36,700
Consider their tolerances.

1476
00:59:36,700 --> 00:59:39,600
As I mentioned, the fish are 
between 60 to 80 degrees.

1477
00:59:39,600 --> 00:59:42,866
There's also pH, they 
like seven to eight.

1478
00:59:42,866 --> 00:59:45,866
If we look at plants, 
most plants like 60 to 80.

1479
00:59:45,866 --> 00:59:48,500
Hey, there's a good 
match-up right there.

1480
00:59:48,500 --> 00:59:51,733
On the other hand, plants 
actually prefer a pH

1481
00:59:51,733 --> 00:59:54,533
that's a little 
acidic, fish don't.

1482
00:59:54,533 --> 00:59:57,533
Uh oh, they're not directly 
on par with one another.

1483
00:59:57,533 --> 01:00:01,000
Well, don't forget these 
guys, the beneficial bacteria,

1484
01:00:01,000 --> 01:00:02,466
you're farming them as well.

1485
01:00:02,466 --> 01:00:04,833
And what you see is, is there 
were two different groups

1486
01:00:04,833 --> 01:00:07,133
of bacteria, one doing 
the ammonia to nitrite,

1487
01:00:07,133 --> 01:00:09,466
another doing the 
nitrite to nitrate.

1488
01:00:09,466 --> 01:00:13,100
Well, the nitrous ammonus 
is pretty good, 68 to 86

1489
01:00:13,100 --> 01:00:14,866
and 7.8 to eight.

1490
01:00:14,866 --> 01:00:16,500
That matches up 
well with the fish.

1491
01:00:16,500 --> 01:00:20,200
But those nitrobacter converting 
the nitrite to nitrate,

1492
01:00:20,200 --> 01:00:22,166
they're heat lovers.

1493
01:00:22,166 --> 01:00:23,333
They really want that system

1494
01:00:23,333 --> 01:00:24,866
running at a much 
higher temperature.

1495
01:00:24,866 --> 01:00:27,866
And as you can see, their 
pH is pretty neutral.

1496
01:00:27,866 --> 01:00:30,233
So if you really look at 
all three of those crops

1497
01:00:30,233 --> 01:00:32,533
you're raising, you have 
to have to pick something

1498
01:00:32,533 --> 01:00:34,600
to set your 
aquaponics system at.

1499
01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:36,600
I mean, what temperature 
do you want it at?

1500
01:00:36,600 --> 01:00:38,566
What pH do you 
want the water at?

1501
01:00:38,566 --> 01:00:41,766
Turns out that what most 
aquaponics operates at

1502
01:00:41,766 --> 01:00:43,733
is a compromise.

1503
01:00:43,733 --> 01:00:45,833
It's about 70 to 80 
degrees Fahrenheit

1504
01:00:45,833 --> 01:00:48,833
and about a pH of 
seven or neutral.

1505
01:00:48,833 --> 01:00:50,300
What does it mean?

1506
01:00:50,300 --> 01:00:52,233
Well, it means you 
can do aquaponics.

1507
01:00:52,233 --> 01:00:54,800
You can grow fish, 
plants and bacteria.

1508
01:00:54,800 --> 01:00:56,566
But you're probably 
not going to grow them

1509
01:00:56,566 --> 01:00:58,866
at the fastest rate 
possible.

1510
01:00:58,866 --> 01:01:00,566
You have to set 
your expectations

1511
01:01:00,566 --> 01:01:02,300
right where they 
need to be, which is,

1512
01:01:02,300 --> 01:01:05,466
I'll get great growth, I 
won't get super great growth

1513
01:01:05,466 --> 01:01:08,000
out of my system, because 
everything is being compromised

1514
01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:09,133
a little bit.

1515
01:01:09,133 --> 01:01:10,600
And that's something 
to keep in mind.

1516
01:01:10,600 --> 01:01:13,100
As I said, it's not the 
answer to all the problems,

1517
01:01:13,100 --> 01:01:15,833
but it is one of the 
potential solutions.

1518
01:01:17,033 --> 01:01:19,200
Another question, and I 
actually was asked this,

1519
01:01:19,200 --> 01:01:21,266
this morning on the radio,

1520
01:01:21,266 --> 01:01:22,966
and that is somebody 
said to me, well,

1521
01:01:22,966 --> 01:01:24,566
but who's doing aquaponics?

1522
01:01:24,566 --> 01:01:26,966
Is this just for that person 
who wants something set up

1523
01:01:26,966 --> 01:01:28,233
in their garage?

1524
01:01:28,233 --> 01:01:31,233
Or is this an 
industrial complex?

1525
01:01:31,233 --> 01:01:34,466
Well, my answer is, is that 
aquaponics is scalable.

1526
01:01:34,466 --> 01:01:36,233
I suggest anybody 
getting into it,

1527
01:01:36,233 --> 01:01:37,933
gets into it on a small scale.

1528
01:01:37,933 --> 01:01:40,833
Set up your own home 
or hobby system,

1529
01:01:40,833 --> 01:01:43,366
in your backyard 
or in your garage,

1530
01:01:43,366 --> 01:01:44,766
and have some fun with it.

1531
01:01:44,766 --> 01:01:47,100
Try the fish and the 
plants and try to match up

1532
01:01:47,100 --> 01:01:50,133
what you'd like to grow and 
what is a good compromise.

1533
01:01:50,133 --> 01:01:52,600
Most people get 
into it that way.

1534
01:01:52,600 --> 01:01:54,433
And what they find is, is 
they're suddenly raising

1535
01:01:54,433 --> 01:01:56,533
a lot more vegetables 
than they can eat.

1536
01:01:56,533 --> 01:01:58,800
So that takes it to the 
next one and they say,

1537
01:01:58,800 --> 01:02:00,700
well, if I'm doing that, I 
might as well start selling

1538
01:02:00,700 --> 01:02:01,933
some of it.

1539
01:02:01,933 --> 01:02:04,066
So they go to the Farmer's 
Market, a nice local market,

1540
01:02:04,066 --> 01:02:05,733
where they can sell 
all their crops.

1541
01:02:05,733 --> 01:02:07,933
The next thing you know, 
their system has outgrown

1542
01:02:07,933 --> 01:02:10,566
their little shed and it's 
sticking now into their lawn.

1543
01:02:10,566 --> 01:02:13,766
And now they're into a 
slightly larger size system.

1544
01:02:13,766 --> 01:02:15,300
They also look at that and say,

1545
01:02:15,300 --> 01:02:18,033
well, a lot of people 
stop by and want to see

1546
01:02:18,033 --> 01:02:19,500
what it is I'm doing.

1547
01:02:19,500 --> 01:02:22,500
So now we get into the social 
and community aquaponics.

1548
01:02:22,500 --> 01:02:24,700
One of the more famous 
ones is right here,

1549
01:02:24,700 --> 01:02:26,300
it's Growing Power in Milwaukee.

1550
01:02:26,300 --> 01:02:28,366
They get people in 
their own neighborhoods

1551
01:02:28,366 --> 01:02:32,366
to grow their own food, to 
get a job at the location,

1552
01:02:32,366 --> 01:02:34,600
and see that their 
food is actually coming

1553
01:02:34,600 --> 01:02:36,866
from just down the block.

1554
01:02:36,866 --> 01:02:38,866
Well, now you got all 
the neighbors involved,

1555
01:02:38,866 --> 01:02:40,066
and they're all interested

1556
01:02:40,066 --> 01:02:41,600
and you're starting 
to build up a staff.

1557
01:02:41,600 --> 01:02:44,266
So now you got a commercial 
food production at that point

1558
01:02:44,266 --> 01:02:46,333
and you start getting all 
these fish tanks set up

1559
01:02:46,333 --> 01:02:48,500
and you start setting 
up hundreds of feet

1560
01:02:48,500 --> 01:02:50,000
of plant production.

1561
01:02:50,000 --> 01:02:51,966
And what you find is, 
is that all these people

1562
01:02:51,966 --> 01:02:53,233
that were interested,

1563
01:02:53,233 --> 01:02:54,966
the Farmer's Market you 
started selling it at,

1564
01:02:54,966 --> 01:02:56,766
suddenly, people are 
knocking down your door.

1565
01:02:56,766 --> 01:02:58,433
They're ringing the doorbell, 
they're sending the email

1566
01:02:58,433 --> 01:03:00,333
saying, but I want more.

1567
01:03:00,333 --> 01:03:02,900
So you've increased the 
size of your production.

1568
01:03:02,900 --> 01:03:05,500
But as I said before, 
it's scalable.

1569
01:03:05,500 --> 01:03:07,666
Keep in mind, it was 
one fish tank there,

1570
01:03:07,666 --> 01:03:10,066
and now there's five 
fish tanks there.

1571
01:03:10,066 --> 01:03:11,633
That's really all you're doing.

1572
01:03:11,633 --> 01:03:13,500
You're adding in 
another fish tank.

1573
01:03:13,500 --> 01:03:15,766
You're adding into 
another raft system.

1574
01:03:15,766 --> 01:03:18,833
And then another fish tank, 
and another raft.

1575
01:03:18,833 --> 01:03:20,666
So you can watch 
the system grow,

1576
01:03:20,666 --> 01:03:23,166
as well as all the products 
that are coming out of it.

1577
01:03:23,166 --> 01:03:25,366
As well as your business.

1578
01:03:25,366 --> 01:03:27,500
So as most businesses, 
start small

1579
01:03:27,500 --> 01:03:29,400
and then watch the 
system actually grow.

1580
01:03:29,400 --> 01:03:31,400
There are places 
now which I've seen

1581
01:03:31,400 --> 01:03:33,200
in which they've got 20 tanks.

1582
01:03:33,200 --> 01:03:35,400
And they've got over 
an acre to two acres

1583
01:03:35,400 --> 01:03:38,200
of these raft systems set up.

1584
01:03:38,200 --> 01:03:40,133
So they're really 
growing in size.

1585
01:03:40,133 --> 01:03:41,566
A lot of it depends, of course,

1586
01:03:41,566 --> 01:03:44,566
do you have the consumers 
to buy all that?

1587
01:03:44,566 --> 01:03:46,333
And then of course, 
the other ones here,

1588
01:03:46,333 --> 01:03:48,066
and that is education.

1589
01:03:48,066 --> 01:03:49,966
The last time I counted, 
which was the beginning

1590
01:03:49,966 --> 01:03:53,100
of the summer, there were 
63 high schools in Wisconsin

1591
01:03:53,100 --> 01:03:56,333
that had aquaponics systems 
in the schools.

1592
01:03:56,333 --> 01:03:57,600
And it keeps growing.

1593
01:03:57,600 --> 01:04:00,033
I mean, we're helping a 
lot of them set them up,

1594
01:04:00,033 --> 01:04:02,066
and it's like another 
one or two a week.

1595
01:04:02,066 --> 01:04:03,300
Why is that?

1596
01:04:03,300 --> 01:04:05,266
I'll go into a little 
more detail in a minute,

1597
01:04:05,266 --> 01:04:07,233
but the students 
find it fascinating.

1598
01:04:07,233 --> 01:04:08,933
And they're learning 
about biology.

1599
01:04:08,933 --> 01:04:10,966
They're learning about 
the environment.

1600
01:04:10,966 --> 01:04:13,000
So it's a great 
teaching tool as well.

1601
01:04:13,000 --> 01:04:15,100
And then, of course, the 
other is the research,

1602
01:04:15,100 --> 01:04:16,733
such as the Aquaponics 
Innovation Center,

1603
01:04:16,733 --> 01:04:18,200
which I'll show you in a minute.

1604
01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:19,833
But I just love this 
photo right here,

1605
01:04:19,833 --> 01:04:21,800
and that is is we had a 4K class

1606
01:04:21,800 --> 01:04:23,733
come to the Aquaponics 
Innovation Center,

1607
01:04:23,733 --> 01:04:25,166
and the kids basically all,

1608
01:04:25,166 --> 01:04:27,466
immediately, as soon they 
leaned in and they saw the fish

1609
01:04:27,466 --> 01:04:29,466
swimming by, you could 
just see their faces

1610
01:04:29,466 --> 01:04:31,266
and you're like, 
oh, they're hooked.

1611
01:04:31,266 --> 01:04:33,666
They're going home tonight 
and whether it's fish sticks

1612
01:04:33,666 --> 01:04:36,400
or whether they're 
going to have real fish,

1613
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:38,200
those kids are going 
to eat fish tonight,

1614
01:04:38,200 --> 01:04:40,166
and hey, maybe we just had 
them eat their vegetables

1615
01:04:40,166 --> 01:04:41,800
for the first time as well.

1616
01:04:41,800 --> 01:04:43,500
They just get excited about it.

1617
01:04:43,500 --> 01:04:45,466
Many of them want to come 
back with their parents

1618
01:04:45,466 --> 01:04:46,800
and see it all over again.

1619
01:04:46,800 --> 01:04:49,166
A lot of those kids in 4K 
go into elementary school,

1620
01:04:49,166 --> 01:04:51,166
go to the high school, 
they have a system,

1621
01:04:51,166 --> 01:04:52,766
and then we start to see them

1622
01:04:52,766 --> 01:04:53,933
at the university afterwards.

1623
01:04:53,933 --> 01:04:56,900
It's amazing how it just 
has this appeal to it,

1624
01:04:56,900 --> 01:04:59,266
this fascinating appeal 
that you're watching

1625
01:04:59,266 --> 01:05:01,600
living things grow, and 
you're growing them.

1626
01:05:01,600 --> 01:05:03,766
And everybody just seems 
to look at that and say

1627
01:05:03,766 --> 01:05:06,466
I could do that as well.

1628
01:05:06,466 --> 01:05:08,033
I wanted to put this up here,

1629
01:05:08,033 --> 01:05:09,400
because that is a big question.

1630
01:05:09,400 --> 01:05:11,400
Who is doing aquaponics?

1631
01:05:11,400 --> 01:05:14,400
Well, unfortunately, there 
has only been one survey done

1632
01:05:14,400 --> 01:05:16,933
on aquaponics that I'm aware of

1633
01:05:16,933 --> 01:05:19,233
over the past 20 years.

1634
01:05:19,233 --> 01:05:21,600
It was published 
in 2015 this year

1635
01:05:21,600 --> 01:05:24,800
and they basically sent 
out an email survey

1636
01:05:24,800 --> 01:05:27,966
and said, tell us what is 
the size of your system?

1637
01:05:27,966 --> 01:05:29,666
How long have you 
been in business?

1638
01:05:29,666 --> 01:05:31,166
And what are you producing?

1639
01:05:31,166 --> 01:05:33,800
And you can see this 
here, and that is, is that

1640
01:05:33,800 --> 01:05:35,533
these are the years that 
these respondents said

1641
01:05:35,533 --> 01:05:38,133
they started doing aquaponics.

1642
01:05:38,133 --> 01:05:39,533
I find it remarkable.

1643
01:05:39,533 --> 01:05:43,433
It really only started a 
count five years ago.

1644
01:05:43,433 --> 01:05:45,300
Before that, very few 
people were doing it.

1645
01:05:45,300 --> 01:05:48,066
And all of a sudden, growth of 
aquaponics and who's doing it

1646
01:05:48,066 --> 01:05:49,466
started to skyrocket.

1647
01:05:49,466 --> 01:05:51,633
But it also shows you most 
of the people doing it

1648
01:05:51,633 --> 01:05:53,633
have only been doing it 
for five years or less.

1649
01:05:53,633 --> 01:05:55,266
So if it's something 
you're considering,

1650
01:05:55,266 --> 01:05:56,766
you're in good company.

1651
01:05:56,766 --> 01:05:59,200
There's nobody out there that 
has vast years of experience

1652
01:05:59,200 --> 01:06:01,733
unless you consider 
five years vast.

1653
01:06:01,733 --> 01:06:04,866
The other they want to know 
is how large is your systems?

1654
01:06:04,866 --> 01:06:06,700
And you can see there's 
a large range here.

1655
01:06:06,700 --> 01:06:09,233
But if you look at the 
system volume, most of these

1656
01:06:09,233 --> 01:06:11,400
on this end are the 
home or hobby systems.

1657
01:06:11,400 --> 01:06:13,166
These are like the 
Farmer's Market.

1658
01:06:13,166 --> 01:06:15,533
It's just some people 
now, the brave ones,

1659
01:06:15,533 --> 01:06:17,866
venturing out into 
commercial aquaponics.

1660
01:06:17,866 --> 01:06:20,566
So the industry is 
just starting to grow.

1661
01:06:20,566 --> 01:06:23,166
But it had to gain its 
momentum to launch it

1662
01:06:23,166 --> 01:06:25,600
to get these larger 
systems to start to show up

1663
01:06:25,600 --> 01:06:29,833
as people make it more and 
more scalable or upscale it.

1664
01:06:29,833 --> 01:06:31,933
The other part of the survey,

1665
01:06:31,933 --> 01:06:34,566
I kind of take this, take 
it with a grain of salt,

1666
01:06:34,566 --> 01:06:37,233
if you would, and that was, 
is remember what I said,

1667
01:06:37,233 --> 01:06:39,333
it was an email survey.

1668
01:06:39,333 --> 01:06:41,833
How many of those 
do you get a day?

1669
01:06:41,833 --> 01:06:42,966
(laughs)

1670
01:06:42,966 --> 01:06:45,466
So they even admitted, 
they sent out the survey

1671
01:06:45,466 --> 01:06:47,633
across all email lists,

1672
01:06:47,633 --> 01:06:50,600
and they received 800 
replies in three months,

1673
01:06:50,600 --> 01:06:53,033
and that's what they 
based the results on.

1674
01:06:53,033 --> 01:06:55,266
Most certainly, it 
underestimates the size

1675
01:06:55,266 --> 01:06:58,233
of the aquaponics industry 
or individuals in the U.S.

1676
01:06:58,233 --> 01:07:00,600
because like most of us, 
we'd probably just delete it

1677
01:07:00,600 --> 01:07:02,066
if the email came in.

1678
01:07:02,066 --> 01:07:04,900
But I look at it and that 
is, they got 800 responses

1679
01:07:04,900 --> 01:07:08,066
in three months using 
a very faulty system

1680
01:07:08,066 --> 01:07:09,466
for collecting data.

1681
01:07:09,466 --> 01:07:11,866
That's pretty remarkable 
to begin with.

1682
01:07:11,866 --> 01:07:13,866
And you can see, they're 
scattered everywhere.

1683
01:07:13,866 --> 01:07:15,800
And then they went 
global with it,

1684
01:07:15,800 --> 01:07:17,433
and they basically 
asked a simple question,

1685
01:07:17,433 --> 01:07:19,766
and that is, is do you 
do aquaponics or not?

1686
01:07:19,766 --> 01:07:22,800
And they got responses from 
a large portion of the world.

1687
01:07:22,800 --> 01:07:25,400
Again, it's a faulty 
study because who knows?

1688
01:07:25,400 --> 01:07:27,400
In half of these countries, 
the email could have been

1689
01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:29,466
blocked or just never got 
out to any of the people

1690
01:07:29,466 --> 01:07:30,733
that were in it.

1691
01:07:30,733 --> 01:07:33,100
But again, as you start 
to see these dots,

1692
01:07:33,100 --> 01:07:34,600
and as the dots get larger,

1693
01:07:34,600 --> 01:07:37,100
it starts to show you there's 
some momentum building here.

1694
01:07:37,100 --> 01:07:39,366
More and more people are 
getting into aquaponics

1695
01:07:39,366 --> 01:07:40,766
and are starting to use it.

1696
01:07:40,766 --> 01:07:43,100
And I think you'd be surprised 
if you start looking around

1697
01:07:43,100 --> 01:07:44,600
where they start popping 
up, even right here

1698
01:07:44,600 --> 01:07:45,900
in Stevens Point.

1699
01:07:47,533 --> 01:07:51,066
Now, again, we come 
back to that question,

1700
01:07:51,066 --> 01:07:53,233
well, in order for aquaponics 
to be a sustainable

1701
01:07:53,233 --> 01:07:55,833
food production system, it's 
going to have to compete

1702
01:07:55,833 --> 01:07:58,400
with traditional agriculture.

1703
01:07:58,400 --> 01:08:00,233
To do that, it's 
going to have to meet

1704
01:08:00,233 --> 01:08:04,800
some socio-economic challenges 
that are out there.

1705
01:08:04,800 --> 01:08:06,600
It can meet a lot of them.

1706
01:08:06,600 --> 01:08:07,900
We talked about this already.

1707
01:08:07,900 --> 01:08:09,733
Mineral recycling.

1708
01:08:09,733 --> 01:08:11,433
That is what 
aquaponics is about.

1709
01:08:11,433 --> 01:08:14,500
The fish put the nutrients 
in, the bacteria convert it,

1710
01:08:14,500 --> 01:08:17,600
the plants use it, and 
the cycle begins again.

1711
01:08:17,600 --> 01:08:21,500
Consider traditional 
agriculture, 
consider hydroponics.

1712
01:08:21,500 --> 01:08:24,533
It's a matter of mining 
or creating the minerals,

1713
01:08:24,533 --> 01:08:27,233
dumping them in and then 
going back and doing it

1714
01:08:27,233 --> 01:08:30,133
over and over again to get 
those crops to be produced.

1715
01:08:30,133 --> 01:08:32,566
It's not a recycling system.

1716
01:08:32,566 --> 01:08:34,200
We already talked about water.

1717
01:08:34,200 --> 01:08:36,066
Water is going to 
become more and more

1718
01:08:36,066 --> 01:08:38,366
the world's scarcest resource.

1719
01:08:38,366 --> 01:08:42,033
This is a system here in 
which aquaponics only uses

1720
01:08:42,033 --> 01:08:46,133
10% of the water that 
traditional agriculture uses.

1721
01:08:46,133 --> 01:08:48,566
Why? 
Because it's recycled.

1722
01:08:48,566 --> 01:08:50,600
Traditional agriculture 
sprays it on a field.

1723
01:08:50,600 --> 01:08:53,533
I once had a person say to 
me, yeah, but it finds its way

1724
01:08:53,533 --> 01:08:55,533
into the well, and it's 
pumped back up again.

1725
01:08:55,533 --> 01:08:58,366
But do you really know the rate 
at which it takes for water

1726
01:08:58,366 --> 01:09:00,933
to get from a plant, back 
to the aquifer and back up?

1727
01:09:00,933 --> 01:09:03,866
It's measured in years 
or decades.

1728
01:09:03,866 --> 01:09:05,900
So it's a recycled system, 
but it's a really slow

1729
01:09:05,900 --> 01:09:07,233
recycle system.

1730
01:09:07,233 --> 01:09:09,733
What is the turnover 
in aquaponics?

1731
01:09:09,733 --> 01:09:13,033
You get two complete 
cycles in one hour.

1732
01:09:13,033 --> 01:09:17,266
So that's a lot faster 
than say, 10 to 15 years.

1733
01:09:17,266 --> 01:09:18,600
Energy efficiency?

1734
01:09:18,600 --> 01:09:20,266
Aquaponics is kind of 
leading the way again.

1735
01:09:20,266 --> 01:09:22,666
You know, like I said, more 
and more people are doing it

1736
01:09:22,666 --> 01:09:23,900
in green houses.

1737
01:09:23,900 --> 01:09:25,100
They're using solar heat.

1738
01:09:25,100 --> 01:09:27,400
They're using solar panels 
to produce the electricity

1739
01:09:27,400 --> 01:09:29,833
that they need to 
run the systems.

1740
01:09:29,833 --> 01:09:31,633
We discussed over-fishing.

1741
01:09:31,633 --> 01:09:34,233
More and more of your fish 
is going to come from farms,

1742
01:09:34,233 --> 01:09:36,400
which farm would you 
like it to come from?

1743
01:09:36,400 --> 01:09:37,600
The one next door to you,

1744
01:09:37,600 --> 01:09:39,066
where they have an 
aquaponics system,

1745
01:09:39,066 --> 01:09:42,166
or the one over in China where 
it's being raised somehow,

1746
01:09:42,166 --> 01:09:44,100
imported here and not inspected,

1747
01:09:44,100 --> 01:09:46,533
and winding up on your plate.

1748
01:09:46,533 --> 01:09:48,866
As I mentioned 
before, it's scalable,

1749
01:09:48,866 --> 01:09:51,466
but you can put aquaponics 
everywhere.

1750
01:09:51,466 --> 01:09:53,400
Some people I think 
sell it a little short

1751
01:09:53,400 --> 01:09:55,933
and they say, well urban 
aquaponics is just the future,

1752
01:09:55,933 --> 01:09:57,533
that's the only one 
that's going to matter.

1753
01:09:57,533 --> 01:10:00,066
Urban aquaponics is tricky.

1754
01:10:00,066 --> 01:10:02,066
Most cities are not 
zoned for agriculture.

1755
01:10:02,066 --> 01:10:04,500
And therefore, you've got to 
go through a lot of permits

1756
01:10:04,500 --> 01:10:05,833
and regulations.

1757
01:10:05,833 --> 01:10:08,100
The other is, is where 
are you going to put it?

1758
01:10:08,100 --> 01:10:10,666
If you have a vacant lot 
or the top of a building,

1759
01:10:10,666 --> 01:10:12,166
that's probably a good location.

1760
01:10:12,166 --> 01:10:14,466
But a lot of people are 
trying to shove them

1761
01:10:14,466 --> 01:10:16,100
into warehouses or 
condemned buildings.

1762
01:10:16,100 --> 01:10:18,800
There's potential there, but 
I haven't seen any of them

1763
01:10:18,800 --> 01:10:20,166
succeed on a high level

1764
01:10:20,166 --> 01:10:21,900
because now you've got 
to heat the building

1765
01:10:21,900 --> 01:10:24,633
and now you have to provide 
the sunlight.

1766
01:10:24,633 --> 01:10:26,400
And you do so through 
lighting.

1767
01:10:26,400 --> 01:10:28,933
That all costs money, and 
now you've got to make sure

1768
01:10:28,933 --> 01:10:32,100
you're still producing those 
crops at a profitable level.

1769
01:10:32,100 --> 01:10:34,966
So I think when you look 
at more of the peri-urban

1770
01:10:34,966 --> 01:10:36,600
or more of the rural areas,

1771
01:10:36,600 --> 01:10:38,866
I think this is where you're 
going to see the greatest

1772
01:10:38,866 --> 01:10:40,533
aquaponics growth right now.

1773
01:10:40,533 --> 01:10:43,400
Now when I say rural, I don't 
mean 100 miles from here.

1774
01:10:43,400 --> 01:10:45,300
I'm talking about just 
get outside the suburbs

1775
01:10:45,300 --> 01:10:47,100
and plant it right there.

1776
01:10:47,100 --> 01:10:49,766
You're still within 50 
miles of your consumers.

1777
01:10:49,766 --> 01:10:51,800
I think that's where 
there's a lot of potential.

1778
01:10:51,800 --> 01:10:53,966
Or, in the suburbs themselves,

1779
01:10:53,966 --> 01:10:57,233
where some areas are zoned both 
residential and agricultural

1780
01:10:57,233 --> 01:11:00,233
and you can actually put 
these facilities.

1781
01:11:00,233 --> 01:11:02,000
And then the other 
challenges is, is that

1782
01:11:02,000 --> 01:11:03,866
as more people want 
to get into it,

1783
01:11:03,866 --> 01:11:05,666
they have to learn 
about it.

1784
01:11:05,666 --> 01:11:08,133
And as I've said before, 
what you have to know about

1785
01:11:08,133 --> 01:11:10,233
is aquaculture, you have 
to know about hydroponics,

1786
01:11:10,233 --> 01:11:12,400
and you know how they work 
together with aquaponics.

1787
01:11:12,400 --> 01:11:14,200
And that can be a 
little challenging.

1788
01:11:14,200 --> 01:11:17,900
I just saw a survey that 
surveyed the Midwestern U.S.

1789
01:11:17,900 --> 01:11:20,533
and then said there are a 
total of three universities

1790
01:11:20,533 --> 01:11:23,566
in the Midwestern U.S. 
teaching aquaculture.

1791
01:11:23,566 --> 01:11:26,633
Keep in mind, Stevens Point 
is one of them.

1792
01:11:26,633 --> 01:11:28,300
But that's it, three.

1793
01:11:28,300 --> 01:11:30,800
How many universities 
are teaching aquaponics?

1794
01:11:30,800 --> 01:11:32,966
Well, as of last year, one.

1795
01:11:32,966 --> 01:11:34,500
Stevens Point was it.

1796
01:11:34,500 --> 01:11:37,166
Now there's three that are out 
there that are teaching it.

1797
01:11:37,166 --> 01:11:39,300
So there's a limited 
supply of courses out there

1798
01:11:39,300 --> 01:11:42,000
and programs right now to 
get into to learn about it.

1799
01:11:42,000 --> 01:11:43,900
You just happen to be 
sitting right next door

1800
01:11:43,900 --> 01:11:47,200
to a university that's 
ahead of the curve there.

1801
01:11:47,200 --> 01:11:49,200
And speaking ahead of the curve,

1802
01:11:49,200 --> 01:11:51,733
I've got to put a little 
plug in for this as well,

1803
01:11:51,733 --> 01:11:53,566
and that was I 
mentioned in April.

1804
01:11:53,566 --> 01:11:56,500
UW-Stevens Point launched the 
Aquaponics Innovation Center.

1805
01:11:56,500 --> 01:11:58,533
And Chris Cirmo 
mentioned it was paid for

1806
01:11:58,533 --> 01:12:01,200
by a UW System economic 
development incentive grant

1807
01:12:01,200 --> 01:12:02,900
for $700,000.

1808
01:12:02,900 --> 01:12:07,400
It's built at the Nelson 
and Pade facility,

1809
01:12:07,400 --> 01:12:10,300
which is in Montello, Wisconsin, 
one hour south of here,

1810
01:12:10,300 --> 01:12:12,500
but it was actually a 
really great opportunity

1811
01:12:12,500 --> 01:12:13,733
for the university.

1812
01:12:13,733 --> 01:12:15,633
Our facility is this 
one here that you see

1813
01:12:15,633 --> 01:12:17,033
with the blue tanks.

1814
01:12:17,033 --> 01:12:19,400
Their demonstration system 
is on the other side.

1815
01:12:19,400 --> 01:12:21,566
Nelson & Pade is one 
of the world leaders

1816
01:12:21,566 --> 01:12:23,833
in aquaponics system 
design, engineering

1817
01:12:23,833 --> 01:12:25,200
and system-building.

1818
01:12:25,200 --> 01:12:28,300
So they use this as a 
showroom for their systems.

1819
01:12:28,300 --> 01:12:30,966
Well, we wanted to use 
their systems as part

1820
01:12:30,966 --> 01:12:32,766
of our Innovation Center, 
and I couldn't think

1821
01:12:32,766 --> 01:12:34,566
of a better place to build 
our Innovation Center

1822
01:12:34,566 --> 01:12:36,833
than next door to the 
manufacturer.

1823
01:12:36,833 --> 01:12:38,833
Think about everything, 
something you have that breaks.

1824
01:12:38,833 --> 01:12:40,700
Wouldn't you like to 
have lived next door

1825
01:12:40,700 --> 01:12:43,666
to the manufacturer of it, so 
at least you can go over there

1826
01:12:43,666 --> 01:12:45,166
and complain?

1827
01:12:45,166 --> 01:12:46,733
So we're located right there,

1828
01:12:46,733 --> 01:12:49,233
and this is open to the 
public so they can come in.

1829
01:12:49,233 --> 01:12:52,366
And as you can see, what 
we have are six replicate

1830
01:12:52,366 --> 01:12:54,033
commercial aquaponics systems.

1831
01:12:54,033 --> 01:12:57,033
This allows us to do a lot 
of side-by-side comparisons

1832
01:12:57,033 --> 01:12:59,266
of the different 
crops, fish, plants,

1833
01:12:59,266 --> 01:13:02,400
different systems, different 
temperatures, anything we want.

1834
01:13:02,400 --> 01:13:04,633
Because it's all located 
inside of a green house,

1835
01:13:04,633 --> 01:13:08,633
we can set the environment 
and test its parameters.

1836
01:13:08,633 --> 01:13:10,633
What we use the facility for?

1837
01:13:10,633 --> 01:13:12,200
We use it a lot for teaching.

1838
01:13:12,200 --> 01:13:13,600
A lot for student research.

1839
01:13:13,600 --> 01:13:15,466
We have educational 
opportunities.

1840
01:13:15,466 --> 01:13:19,900
We invite people in to come 
talk with us, share ideas.

1841
01:13:19,900 --> 01:13:22,066
The nice thing about 
research centers is,

1842
01:13:22,066 --> 01:13:24,266
is that we can try 
things, and we can fail.

1843
01:13:24,266 --> 01:13:25,566
And that's results.

1844
01:13:25,566 --> 01:13:27,233
Whereas a business 
does it and fails,

1845
01:13:27,233 --> 01:13:29,300
they're out of business.

1846
01:13:29,300 --> 01:13:31,466
So we can help the 
industry in that case.

1847
01:13:31,466 --> 01:13:34,233
We can help commercialize 
the discoveries.

1848
01:13:34,233 --> 01:13:35,600
Maybe you have a new idea.

1849
01:13:35,600 --> 01:13:37,100
A twist on some idea.

1850
01:13:37,100 --> 01:13:39,900
We can help you test it to see 
if it's worth then patenting

1851
01:13:39,900 --> 01:13:41,333
or promoting it.

1852
01:13:41,333 --> 01:13:44,266
As we put it, what we're 
there for is, is that we serve

1853
01:13:44,266 --> 01:13:46,800
the economic development of 
a blue-green industry.

1854
01:13:46,800 --> 01:13:49,233
And we're hoping to see 
it grow more and more

1855
01:13:49,233 --> 01:13:52,000
throughout the 
state of Wisconsin.

1856
01:13:52,000 --> 01:13:54,200
Well, what are the 
results from this?

1857
01:13:54,200 --> 01:13:56,533
Well, as I said, we work 
with a lot of partners.

1858
01:13:56,533 --> 01:14:00,000
We've got dozens of businesses, 
current, future businesses

1859
01:14:00,000 --> 01:14:03,533
that want to try different 
species, try different systems.

1860
01:14:03,533 --> 01:14:05,400
We're also, as I mentioned, 
one of the sources

1861
01:14:05,400 --> 01:14:06,866
of education.

1862
01:14:06,866 --> 01:14:08,966
I mentioned the aquaponics 
course that we teach here

1863
01:14:08,966 --> 01:14:10,233
at the university.

1864
01:14:10,233 --> 01:14:11,466
We've taught it for four years.

1865
01:14:11,466 --> 01:14:13,466
The first year, we 
got 20 of the bravest,

1866
01:14:13,466 --> 01:14:15,333
most courageous 
students who said,

1867
01:14:15,333 --> 01:14:17,566
I'm going to try the U.S.'s 
first aquaponics course,

1868
01:14:17,566 --> 01:14:18,933
and see where it goes.

1869
01:14:18,933 --> 01:14:21,666
And we had bumps and bruises, 
but we all made it through it.

1870
01:14:21,666 --> 01:14:23,133
That was the first year.

1871
01:14:23,133 --> 01:14:25,933
This last year, we had 74 
students take the course.

1872
01:14:25,933 --> 01:14:27,733
They came from, I 
think it was 24 states

1873
01:14:27,733 --> 01:14:29,966
and seven foreign countries.

1874
01:14:29,966 --> 01:14:32,600
So they're basically coming 
here to Central Wisconsin

1875
01:14:32,600 --> 01:14:34,600
to learn aquaponics.

1876
01:14:34,600 --> 01:14:36,533
Like I said, research 
and innovation.

1877
01:14:36,533 --> 01:14:39,333
There are two parts of the 
course that I absolutely love,

1878
01:14:39,333 --> 01:14:41,133
and that is we 
make every student

1879
01:14:41,133 --> 01:14:43,133
create their 
aquaponics business.

1880
01:14:43,133 --> 01:14:45,533
They can't graduate until 
they actually put out there

1881
01:14:45,533 --> 01:14:48,866
the blueprints for their 
aquaponics business.

1882
01:14:48,866 --> 01:14:50,500
And then everybody sits around,

1883
01:14:50,500 --> 01:14:52,266
they criticize and 
they critique them

1884
01:14:52,266 --> 01:14:53,566
and they compliment them.

1885
01:14:53,566 --> 01:14:55,300
And they say that's 
either a good idea

1886
01:14:55,300 --> 01:14:56,866
or a go back to 
the drawing board.

1887
01:14:56,866 --> 01:14:58,966
What I find amazing is, 
is we've taught the course

1888
01:14:58,966 --> 01:15:01,366
for four years, and I know 
at least seven students

1889
01:15:01,366 --> 01:15:03,666
who have gone on to launch 
their aquaponic business.

1890
01:15:03,666 --> 01:15:06,333
When they send me a note saying, 
here it is, I launched it,

1891
01:15:06,333 --> 01:15:08,433
it's the same name as the 
poster board they put up

1892
01:15:08,433 --> 01:15:09,933
in front of the class.

1893
01:15:09,933 --> 01:15:11,266
(laughs)

1894
01:15:11,266 --> 01:15:12,733
So they're thinking.

1895
01:15:12,733 --> 01:15:14,366
They're thinking really well.

1896
01:15:14,366 --> 01:15:19,533
All of this, as I said, is 
part of a localvore movement.

1897
01:15:19,533 --> 01:15:21,900
People want more and more 
to know where their food

1898
01:15:21,900 --> 01:15:23,366
is coming from.

1899
01:15:23,366 --> 01:15:25,566
And they want to know what 
has happened to it.

1900
01:15:25,566 --> 01:15:29,333
And aquaponics is a way 
of achieving that.

1901
01:15:29,333 --> 01:15:31,233
There's less fossil 
fuel needed to deliver

1902
01:15:31,233 --> 01:15:34,600
aquaponics products because 
most of these aquaponics farms

1903
01:15:34,600 --> 01:15:38,033
are located right next 
to their customers.

1904
01:15:38,033 --> 01:15:40,966
Also, as I said, aquaponics 
uses less than 10%

1905
01:15:40,966 --> 01:15:44,200
of the water as traditional 
agriculture does.

1906
01:15:44,200 --> 01:15:46,633
Purchasing from your local 
farm keeps the dollars

1907
01:15:46,633 --> 01:15:49,600
closer and invests into 
the local economy.

1908
01:15:49,600 --> 01:15:51,633
We see economic 
boons there as well.

1909
01:15:51,633 --> 01:15:53,566
And I said, its an 
innovative, sustainable

1910
01:15:53,566 --> 01:15:55,066
production system.

1911
01:15:55,066 --> 01:15:56,633
Innovative is the key there.

1912
01:15:56,633 --> 01:15:59,600
People want to 
see these systems.

1913
01:15:59,600 --> 01:16:01,966
Most aquaponics growers, 
once they get to, say,

1914
01:16:01,966 --> 01:16:03,533
the Farmer's Market model,

1915
01:16:03,533 --> 01:16:05,233
or move to more 
of the commercial,

1916
01:16:05,233 --> 01:16:07,033
they not only produce the crops,

1917
01:16:07,033 --> 01:16:09,300
but they have a side 
business which is tours.

1918
01:16:09,300 --> 01:16:11,233
And they charge for those tours.

1919
01:16:11,233 --> 01:16:13,900
And people come in 
there, $10 a person,

1920
01:16:13,900 --> 01:16:16,800
to spend an hour wandering 
around, watching plants grow,

1921
01:16:16,800 --> 01:16:18,100
and watching fish swim.

1922
01:16:18,100 --> 01:16:19,333
(laughs)

1923
01:16:19,333 --> 01:16:21,733
The basics, but they do it.

1924
01:16:21,733 --> 01:16:23,933
In many cases, here's 
our Lieutenant Governor.

1925
01:16:23,933 --> 01:16:26,766
She heard about the Aquaponic 
Innovation Center and said,

1926
01:16:26,766 --> 01:16:28,300
"What is it?"

1927
01:16:28,300 --> 01:16:30,500
Well, we invited her 
there to come and see it.

1928
01:16:30,500 --> 01:16:32,566
She spent over three hours 
there wandering around

1929
01:16:32,566 --> 01:16:34,966
looking at it, and she 
said, "I'm fascinated."

1930
01:16:34,966 --> 01:16:36,966
I said to her, I hear 
that from everybody

1931
01:16:36,966 --> 01:16:38,466
who comes through here.

1932
01:16:38,466 --> 01:16:43,566
It's a fascinating process to 
actually see your food grow.

1933
01:16:43,566 --> 01:16:45,833
Now the other thing they ask is,

1934
01:16:45,833 --> 01:16:48,200
is well, what does the 
future look like.

1935
01:16:48,200 --> 01:16:50,700
It's only going to be good 
if a commercial industry

1936
01:16:50,700 --> 01:16:51,966
is launched.

1937
01:16:51,966 --> 01:16:54,433
Well, I think we're at 
the forefront of that.

1938
01:16:54,433 --> 01:16:56,700
And that is, is that it's 
a small but a rapidly

1939
01:16:56,700 --> 01:16:58,100
growing industry.

1940
01:16:58,100 --> 01:17:00,300
As I said, more and more 
people are getting into it.

1941
01:17:00,300 --> 01:17:01,766
Why?

1942
01:17:01,766 --> 01:17:04,066
These are kind of like the 
main reasons they tell us.

1943
01:17:04,066 --> 01:17:06,166
Food security is number one.

1944
01:17:06,166 --> 01:17:07,600
Where does my food come from?

1945
01:17:07,600 --> 01:17:09,833
Number two, locally grown.

1946
01:17:09,833 --> 01:17:11,966
That has a lot of 
weight to it nowadays

1947
01:17:11,966 --> 01:17:13,633
when it comes to 
what food you eat.

1948
01:17:13,633 --> 01:17:16,600
And the other is, is 
that they're running 
out of fresh water

1949
01:17:16,600 --> 01:17:20,800
or running out of agricultural 
land to grow these crops in.

1950
01:17:20,800 --> 01:17:22,800
What do we know?

1951
01:17:22,800 --> 01:17:24,766
When we talk to people who 
run aquaponics businesses

1952
01:17:24,766 --> 01:17:26,266
and we say, are you hiring?

1953
01:17:26,266 --> 01:17:28,866
Almost every one 
of them says yes.

1954
01:17:28,866 --> 01:17:31,100
And we say, well, 
who are you hiring?

1955
01:17:31,100 --> 01:17:32,900
And I love this 
expression, and they said,

1956
01:17:32,900 --> 01:17:36,666
we need college-trained 
students who have taken

1957
01:17:36,666 --> 01:17:40,366
aquaponics courses and know 
the science behind aquaponics.

1958
01:17:40,366 --> 01:17:42,666
Because they said right now, 
the industry is an industry

1959
01:17:42,666 --> 01:17:46,833
driven by enthusiasm more 
than knowledge.

1960
01:17:46,833 --> 01:17:48,300
And I see that a lot.

1961
01:17:48,300 --> 01:17:50,433
People jump into it thinking, 
well, that sounded great,

1962
01:17:50,433 --> 01:17:52,900
I'm going to do it, 
but they have no idea

1963
01:17:52,900 --> 01:17:55,766
how many hours in day 
does a fish need light?

1964
01:17:55,766 --> 01:17:58,233
Do plants need light 
24 hours a day?

1965
01:17:58,233 --> 01:17:59,433
Or is it less than that?

1966
01:17:59,433 --> 01:18:00,766
They don't know the basics.

1967
01:18:00,766 --> 01:18:02,466
So they're asking 
us, they're saying,

1968
01:18:02,466 --> 01:18:04,800
we basically have 
employment opportunities,

1969
01:18:04,800 --> 01:18:06,866
we need people to 
run these systems.

1970
01:18:06,866 --> 01:18:09,133
We've built them, but we 
don't know how to run them.

1971
01:18:09,133 --> 01:18:11,466
And therefore there are 
investors that are out there,

1972
01:18:11,466 --> 01:18:13,833
and we have students now who 
are interested in taking on

1973
01:18:13,833 --> 01:18:15,300
aquaponics as a career.

1974
01:18:15,300 --> 01:18:17,066
They want to run 
those facilities.

1975
01:18:17,066 --> 01:18:20,366
As I said, the need for 
the industry as well,

1976
01:18:20,366 --> 01:18:22,533
is we need to 
explore other crops.

1977
01:18:22,533 --> 01:18:25,200
Tilapia are good, I actually 
recommend to people,

1978
01:18:25,200 --> 01:18:26,666
start with tilapia.

1979
01:18:26,666 --> 01:18:28,133
When they smile at you,

1980
01:18:28,133 --> 01:18:29,833
when there's no 
oxygen in the water,

1981
01:18:29,833 --> 01:18:32,666
and they're flopping 
on a dry pan,

1982
01:18:32,666 --> 01:18:34,466
they're a good 
fish to start with.

1983
01:18:34,466 --> 01:18:37,666
But once you've mastered 
that, then start diversifying.

1984
01:18:37,666 --> 01:18:38,966
See what else is out there.

1985
01:18:38,966 --> 01:18:40,766
Because unfortunately, 
for the tilapia,

1986
01:18:40,766 --> 01:18:44,366
your main competition is some 
farmer over in China.

1987
01:18:44,366 --> 01:18:47,166
It's not somebody right 
in your neighborhood.

1988
01:18:47,166 --> 01:18:49,533
Now I don't want to paint 
the rosiest picture and say

1989
01:18:49,533 --> 01:18:51,033
we should all leave 
here right now

1990
01:18:51,033 --> 01:18:52,633
and launch aquaponics 
businesses.

1991
01:18:52,633 --> 01:18:54,300
There are tremendous 
challenges out there

1992
01:18:54,300 --> 01:18:57,566
for any new or innovative 
agricultural industry.

1993
01:18:57,566 --> 01:18:59,566
The number one item up there,

1994
01:18:59,566 --> 01:19:01,466
which most people 
would agree with is,

1995
01:19:01,466 --> 01:19:04,833
there is no long-term 
economic data for aquaponics.

1996
01:19:04,833 --> 01:19:07,233
If you looked at that survey, 
most people got into it

1997
01:19:07,233 --> 01:19:08,700
less than five years ago.

1998
01:19:08,700 --> 01:19:10,833
So will there be a 
business in 10 years?

1999
01:19:10,833 --> 01:19:12,300
I don't know the answer to that.

2000
01:19:12,300 --> 01:19:14,566
Will you be making a 
profit in seven years?

2001
01:19:14,566 --> 01:19:16,700
I don't know the 
answer to that.

2002
01:19:16,700 --> 01:19:18,466
We need more of 
that economic data,

2003
01:19:18,466 --> 01:19:20,766
but it's only going to 
come as more of these farms

2004
01:19:20,766 --> 01:19:23,100
come online and we 
start to analyze it.

2005
01:19:23,100 --> 01:19:24,466
All right?

2006
01:19:24,466 --> 01:19:27,700
The other is, is that 
aquaponics does need or require

2007
01:19:27,700 --> 01:19:31,166
a multi-disciplinary 
approach.

2008
01:19:31,166 --> 01:19:33,766
Being at the university, I 
constantly here about STEM.

2009
01:19:33,766 --> 01:19:37,700
STEM, STEM, Science, technology, 
engineering, and math.

2010
01:19:37,700 --> 01:19:38,900
They're almost there.

2011
01:19:38,900 --> 01:19:40,233
The true word is STEAM.

2012
01:19:40,233 --> 01:19:41,766
They're missing it.

2013
01:19:41,766 --> 01:19:45,333
It's science, 
technology, engineering, 
agriculture and math.

2014
01:19:45,333 --> 01:19:48,433
Now you've developed a crop 
that people will pay for.

2015
01:19:48,433 --> 01:19:50,566
I don't know what they're 
paying for in the technology,

2016
01:19:50,566 --> 01:19:51,933
science and math areas,

2017
01:19:51,933 --> 01:19:53,933
but now they're buying 
something that they can eat.

2018
01:19:53,933 --> 01:19:55,333
And you need to apply it.

2019
01:19:55,333 --> 01:19:58,366
Aquaponics needs fish 
and plant biology.

2020
01:19:58,366 --> 01:20:00,333
It needs microbiology.

2021
01:20:00,333 --> 01:20:03,066
It needs engineering, 
computer science, economics,

2022
01:20:03,066 --> 01:20:05,366
financing, marketing.

2023
01:20:05,366 --> 01:20:08,000
You need a background obviously 
in all of these things,

2024
01:20:08,000 --> 01:20:12,700
or you need to hire people 
who do have those backgrounds.

2025
01:20:12,700 --> 01:20:14,866
As I mentioned before, 
there's a gap of knowledge

2026
01:20:14,866 --> 01:20:19,033
in aquaponics for that 
fish-plant coupling system.

2027
01:20:19,033 --> 01:20:21,633
I had somebody at the start 
of this lecture say to me,

2028
01:20:21,633 --> 01:20:23,766
I really want to grow salmon.

2029
01:20:23,766 --> 01:20:26,000
And I said, great, 
it's a cold-water fish,

2030
01:20:26,000 --> 01:20:28,000
known for the Arctic waters.

2031
01:20:28,000 --> 01:20:30,633
What vegetables do 
they grow there.

2032
01:20:30,633 --> 01:20:32,933
You've got to find 
a plant that grows

2033
01:20:32,933 --> 01:20:34,966
at freezing temperatures.

2034
01:20:34,966 --> 01:20:37,133
So you've got to match 
that coupling of the fish

2035
01:20:37,133 --> 01:20:38,600
and the plants.

2036
01:20:38,600 --> 01:20:40,866
Pick your fish, but pick 
your plants at the same time.

2037
01:20:40,866 --> 01:20:42,633
They both need the 
same temperature.

2038
01:20:42,633 --> 01:20:44,433
If you can't match 
them together,

2039
01:20:44,433 --> 01:20:46,100
you've got to try again.

2040
01:20:46,100 --> 01:20:48,566
And then as I said here, 
the nice thing is, is that

2041
01:20:48,566 --> 01:20:50,266
it's a recycling system.

2042
01:20:50,266 --> 01:20:52,366
So we're replenishing the 
water that's in there.

2043
01:20:52,366 --> 01:20:54,200
We're cleaning out those 
waste and turning them

2044
01:20:54,200 --> 01:20:55,700
into usable resources.

2045
01:20:55,700 --> 01:20:57,500
And that has to be 
incorporated more and more

2046
01:20:57,500 --> 01:20:58,733
into aquaponics.

2047
01:20:58,733 --> 01:21:00,700
When I hear people say, 
well I do aquaponics,

2048
01:21:00,700 --> 01:21:02,333
but it's a flow through.

2049
01:21:02,333 --> 01:21:04,700
I question them and say, I'm 
not sure that's aquaponics.

2050
01:21:04,700 --> 01:21:07,600
That means the water goes in 
one end, and come out the other

2051
01:21:07,600 --> 01:21:10,133
and is discharged into 
your waste stream.

2052
01:21:10,133 --> 01:21:11,733
I said, it's got to recycle.

2053
01:21:11,733 --> 01:21:13,000
That's aquaponics.

2054
01:21:13,000 --> 01:21:15,933
And people have to look 
at it in that manner.

2055
01:21:15,933 --> 01:21:17,933
So that's kind of an 
overview of aquaponics.

2056
01:21:17,933 --> 01:21:19,866
And again, kind of my 
take on a sustainable

2057
01:21:19,866 --> 01:21:21,700
food production system.

2058
01:21:21,700 --> 01:21:24,233
And hopefully, it gives you a 
little bit more information,

2059
01:21:24,233 --> 01:21:26,833
and like I said, get 
a chance if you can.

2060
01:21:26,833 --> 01:21:28,833
Get out there and see 
some aquaponics systems.

2061
01:21:28,833 --> 01:21:31,666
Stop by the university's 
Aquaponics Innovation Center.

2062
01:21:31,666 --> 01:21:32,966
We'd love to show you around.

2063
01:21:32,966 --> 01:21:34,933
And like I said, 
take a look at it.

2064
01:21:34,933 --> 01:21:36,500
It's really important 
for you to know

2065
01:21:36,500 --> 01:21:38,766
where is my food coming from. 
How safe is it?

2066
01:21:38,766 --> 01:21:40,633
And is it right 
around the corner?

2067
01:21:40,633 --> 01:21:41,466
All right?

2068
01:21:41,466 --> 01:21:43,200
So, thank you very much.

2069
01:21:43,200 --> 01:21:44,866
(applause)