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Great Potential Seen in Fish/Plant Operations in State By Nat Williams Myles Harston is doing well growing and marketing herbs in his Gridley, IL., greenhouses. That's nothing unusual. What is unusual is what's under the rows of parsley, chives, and other plants. Not soil, but fish.
Harston is among a handful of Illinoisans involved in aquaponics, a phenomenon so new the term doesn't even appear in most dictionaries. But Harston and others in the state believe it could be very big some day.
"There is no significant industry at this point," Harston said. "But the potential is phenomenal."
Aquaponics is a melding of aquaculture (commercial fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil, using water and nutrients). Both have been practiced for years in Illinois, but not together.
The idea, while revolutionary, is simple: Use waste products created by fish to serve as nutrients absorbed by plants. In aquaponics, fish waste provides a food source for the growing plants and the plants provide a natural filter for the fish. This creates a mini ecosystem where both plants and fish can thrive.
More specifically, the ammonia in fish waste is converted by bacteria to nitrites, then to nitrates, which serve as "food" for the plants.
"In commercial systems it's new - cutting edge sort of stuff," said Dan Selock, an aquaculture specialist with Southern Illinois University. "Where I expect to see it and where I'm trying to promote it is among former hog farmers."
In aquaponic operations, the nutrient-rich water is pumped through a tray holding absorbent pads placed underneath the plants. The fish water trickles through the tray on a continuous basis.
"The plants grow fantastic, especially green," Selock said. "They develop very deep roots."
The recent legislative creation of the Illinois Fish Farmers Cooperative should help expand the concept, Selock believes. The co-op offers fish farmers a market and technical assistance.
Aquaculture experts in Illinois often suggest tilapia, a transplanted Asian fish variety, as an ideal fish for the state. But the bottom line on a straight aquaculture operation is not always profitable. Selock said that it costs about $1.27 per pound to raise tilapia in a straight aquaculture setting, while the fish sells for $1.25 to $1.90.
"In bad times you're going to lose money," he said. "But with a greenhouse, then you raise two things - you diversify. And you probably will make more money on the plants."
That is the case with most aquaponics operations. Harston grows parsley, chives, basil, and oregano and does well. He said that with the right set-up, producers can get as much as $4 to $6 per square foot per month.
"You can get 10 times the value of fish with culinary herbs," Harston said. "There is one producer in Arkansas who sold $90,000 worth of chives last year, but didn't sell $10,000 in fish."
He noted a Boston producer who sold $1.3 million in herbs and $30,000 in fish.
Plants such as herbs can draw all of their nutrient needs from the fish water, while others require some additional input. That would include tomatoes, which are the most common plant grown in hydroponics operations.
"There is not significant industry in Illinois at this point," Harston said. "But I think it's going to have to happen. There is incredible potential here."
A few other commercial aquaponics operations in Illinois besides Harston's include a tomato business and a high school ag class that raises decorative greenery and tilapia. Also, Archer Daniels Midland has 10 acres of greenhouses in which the company raises tilapia and Boston lettuce.
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