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Local trucker starts new aquaponics venture (Colorado)
The Holyoke Enterprise ^ | July 28, 2018 | Max Levy

Posted on 07/28/2018 2:24:22 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

On a 13-acre plot of land located a mile north of Holyoke, Jose Varela is quietly pushing the boundaries of both agriculture and aquaculture.

The career trucker and operator of EVD Trucking is setting up an aquaponics operation on his family’s property, and has his sights set on providing sustainable, locally-grown produce for Holyoke businesses.

“We’re the only ones I know of that are doing this locally,” he said.

Aquaponics combines hydroponics — a technique that grows plants in a nutrient-rich water solution, sometimes among rocks or gravel, rather than soil — with traditional aquaculture, creating a system of food production that is both market-flexible and environmentally sustainable.

In an aquaponic environment, wastewater is cycled between a hydroponic planter system and one or more fish tanks. The plants are fertilized by the waste produced by the fish, and the fish are benefitted by the clean water that is routed back from the plants.

Large-scale commercial aquaponics has only come into existence recently, even though hydroponic technology has been around for decades, and primitive aquaponic setups have existed since antiquity.

Varela will be breeding male Wami tilapia with female Mozambique tilapia to obtain a hybrid tilapia variety that is overwhelmingly male. He currently has about 600 fish, but plans to be raising five times that many, distributed across six 1,000-gallon tanks when the operation’s new aquaponics facility is completed.

The facility will include a 3,400-square-foot greenhouse and a 680-square-foot fish habitat. Construction has already begun, and the steel skeleton of the building currently stands on the west end of Varela’s property.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Food; Local News
KEYWORDS: aquaponics; farming; fish; talapia
I applaud his get up and go spirit.
1 posted on 07/28/2018 2:24:23 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I bet fish poop makes for fantastic tomatoes.
And there’s nothing better than true love and home grown tomatoes.


2 posted on 07/28/2018 2:42:31 PM PDT by Track9 (Dems are vehemently opposed to separating kids from their traffickers.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

i wish him luck ... but unless he’s feeding fishmeal to his fish, they’ll have zero omega-3 fatty acid content, and you might as well just eat chicken instead from a health perspective ...


3 posted on 07/28/2018 2:46:54 PM PDT by catnipman ((Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!))
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To: Track9
And there’s nothing better than true love and home grown tomatoes.

Yessir! Home growed 'maters! Eat em with grits, eat em with gravy, eat em with beans, pinto and navy!

4 posted on 07/28/2018 2:51:23 PM PDT by N. Theknow (Kennedys-Can't drive, can't ski, can't fly, can't skipper a boat-But they know what's best for you.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Better idea than growing pot

In two years they’ll be giving it away


5 posted on 07/28/2018 2:53:00 PM PDT by wardaddy (Hanged not hung.)
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To: catnipman

You are right about the zero omega-3 fatty acid content-but it sounds as if the fish are not intended for eating-just as fertilizer producers for the veggies...


6 posted on 07/28/2018 3:02:17 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: Track9

Guy Clark ‘Homegrown Tomatoes’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TWwyhCVBDg


7 posted on 07/28/2018 3:03:21 PM PDT by waterhill (I Shall Remain, in spite of __________.)
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To: catnipman; 2ndDivisionVet
I did the behind the scene tour of the agriculture ride at the Epcot center at Disney ,Fl. The aquaponics were very impressive. The fish they used were talapia and they would harvest the fish and use them for fertilizer. Disney has folks from all over the world there studying and Disney also holds several world records on plant growth speed, size, most producing plant, oldest most producing plant etc. If you ever get the chance it's well worth the money. It's been a few years but it was $18 a person when my ex and I did it.

I did the tour on advice from a co-worker.

8 posted on 07/28/2018 3:07:53 PM PDT by BBell (shoot shot shoot shot shoot shot gimme a tissue!!!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The one drawback with Tilapia is that they can’t take cold water conditions for long at all.

People in cold areas go with trout, etc.


9 posted on 07/28/2018 3:22:29 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I recall reading about similar ventures by preppers ten years ago. I wonder how they’re making out or if they ran out of steam?


10 posted on 07/28/2018 8:34:54 PM PDT by rockrr ( Everything is different now...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ive been working on plans to do something similar for a while. Ive been having trouble figuring out a good way toget around tilapia. They don’t sell for much and with tilapia being about one of the worst tasting frewshwater fish Id like to raise something that would sell faster.


11 posted on 07/29/2018 12:55:50 AM PDT by gnarledmaw (Hive minded liberals worship leaders, sovereign conservatives elect servants.)
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