Aquaponics

Aquaponics is the production of plants and fish in an integrated system and is gaining popularity in Minnesota. As you would expect with any rapidly growing industry questions exist and issues arise. We have worked closely with the aquaponics industry, state regulators and stakeholders throughout the supply chain to address some of these concerns and provide training opportunities to support long-term sustainable growth.

For more information aquaponics at the University of Minnesota, go here.

Food safety in aquaponics:

Since aquaponics is produced in warehouses or greenhouses in this region, it is often seen as a 'safe' or 'clean' method for food production. However, risks remain none the less. We performed on site inspections of aquaponic facilities and conducted environmental sampling for the presence of bacterial pathogens. We also developed a risk assessment framework to estimate potential food safety consequences based on the sampling results. We found that not only does the potential exist for significant food safety concerns, indicator bacteria were isolated to confirm it.

In response to our findings, we created outreach material to provide solutions to the potential threats:

keeping-aquaponics-products-safe.pdf

umn-ap-food-safety-assessment (1).docx

Lee, James. 2015. Microbial risk assessment for aquaponics products in Minnesota. MPH Thesis, University of Minnesota.
Funding: MnDRIVE-Global Food Ventures.

Aquaponics market assessment and willingness to pay:

We can grow the food, but can we sell it? That was the big question for small and large scale producers alike. Through a series of projects to perform market research, economic assessments, sensory evaluations, and product auctions we came to the conclusion that yes, you can sell it. BUT... 1. strategic marketing and educating consumers is critical to increase sales price and 2. production costs are high compared to other methods so creating efficiencies and/or economy of scale is essential.

UOM_AquaponicsReport_Final.pdf

Yue, C., Z. Vickers, J. Wang, N. Anderson, L. Wisdorf, J. Brady, M. Schermann, N. B. D. Phelps, P. Venturelli. 2020. Consumer acceptability of aquaponically-grown basil. HortScience 55:841-850.
Abbey, M., N. O. Anderson, C. Yue, M. Schermann, N. B. D. Phelps, P. Venturelli, Z. Vickers. 2019. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) production in northern latitudinal aquaponic growing conditions. HortScience 54:1757-1761.
Abbey, M., N. O. Anderson, C. Yue, G. Short, M. Schermann, N. B. D. Phelps, P. Venturelli, Z. Vickers. 2019. An analysis of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) productivity in Northern latitudinal aquaponic growing conditions. Journal of the American Pomological Society 73:22-37.
Short, G., C. Yue, M. Abbey, N. O. Anderson, N. B. D. Phelps, M. Schermann, P. Venturelli, Z. Vickers. 2018. Consumer preferences for aquaponic produce: Implications from an experimental auction. Agribusiness doi:10.1002/agr.21562.
Short, G., C. Yue, N. Anderson, C. Russell, N. B. D. Phelps. 2017. Consumer perceptions of aquaponics systems. HortTechnology 27:3 358-366.
Funding: MnDRIVE-Global Food Ventures.

Controlling fish disease in aquaponic systems:

Few options exist for controlling fish diseases in aquaponics systems that will not impact the plants, biofilter or goal of organic/natural production. Using experimental aquaponic systems, we tested a range of hydrogen peroxide concentrations and monitored the impact to fish, plant and biofilter health. We found that an indefinite bath treatment of 100ppm hydrogen peroxide did not result in long-term negative consequences to the system and would provide sufficient control of superficial parasitic, bacterial and fungal infections.

Manuscript in prep.

HORT4601:

To train the next generation of aquaponics practitioners, we created an interdisciplinary and experiential undergraduate course in aquaponics.

Class Objectives and Learning Outcomes:

Identify, define, and solve problems associated with many aspects of aquaponics production (operations, economics, policy, communication).
Critically evaluate aquaponics information from diverse sources in order to enhance integrated practice (research, management, policy).
Effectively and economically produce aquaponics products, understand regulations, manipulate and control environmental factors for plant/fish growth, and integrate social/cultural aspects across the distribution chain.
Understand and be sensitive to the juxtaposition of unique contributions from diverse knowledge systems with distinct values in relation to aquaponics.
Learn through aquaponics experiences, create a foundation for producing applied research to outreach outcomes, enhance your ability to express findings and societal deliberation in written and oral formats.
Deliberate and work with aquaponics practitioners and the broader community to identify shared values and address societal problems.

Funding: College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences; MnDRIVE-Global Food Ventures.

Aquaponics Symposium:

In an effort to comunicate our research and outreach back to the industry, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders, we created the Minnesota Aquaponics Symposium:

For more information and past presentations, go here.

Updated: July 2020

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