Wait for the Lord,whose day is near.Wait for the Lord:keep watch, take heart.-Jacques Berthier (Taizé)
Kamis, 31 Maret 2016
3D Aquaponics systems
The internet is full of free resources to use in order to make your life easier. There are many reasons to download models rather than creating one from scratch. To save time, save money or even for testing lighting. As long as you follow the users rules, it is perfectly acceptable to download these models. Below an a linkto 3D aquaponics system
Link 3D Models
D. Koster
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Aquaponics - Commercial aquaponics - Hydroponics - Grow bed
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This weekend was exciting as Green Bazaar had organised an event on "Design Matters". One of the many workshops was on Aquaponics. Here i got a chance of talking to a lot of Aquaponics enthusiasts who wanted to know more.
After a short presentation, I did a DIY session where i showed how one can make a Miniponics - Aquaponics for just under 10$.
Here are a few pics of the workshop. and also a video on DIY - Miniponics
After a short presentation, I did a DIY session where i showed how one can make a Miniponics - Aquaponics for just under 10$.
Here are a few pics of the workshop. and also a video on DIY - Miniponics
A quick video grab of the workshop.
DIY - Video - How to make Aquaponics system for under 10$
I often get requests for additional information on Aqua Farming. Many people wanted particular reports and related articles. To better help visitors in thier search I set up an online library of freely available documents and reports.
The access page is located at
This Link
At that like you will find numerous topic specific reports that you can view online or download. I will update the resource with new stuff as often as time permits.
I hope that you find some value in this, and thanks for your comments and requests!
Aqua Farming Knowledge Library Link
Read More..
The access page is located at
This Link
At that like you will find numerous topic specific reports that you can view online or download. I will update the resource with new stuff as often as time permits.
I hope that you find some value in this, and thanks for your comments and requests!
Aqua Farming Knowledge Library Link
But who wants to eat goldfish when they can have, tilapia, bluegill, trout, basa or bass? You can use any fresh water fish for aquaponics. The most popular are tilapia because they breed easily and quickly and young fry are easily maintained.
You arent going to grow plants if you dont have fish poo. You arent going to have fish poo without fish.
So what fish do you use?
If this werent about survival you could use gold fish or koi.
Our very first experiment with aquaponics was on such a small scale we used the goldfish and plecostomus that were already in our small garden pond to grow herbs on a floating raft. It worked!
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| Tilapia |
You can buy tilapia here http://www.tilapiafarmingathome.com/Pages/OurProducts.aspx
or here http://carolinaaquaponics.com/Our_Fish.html
or here http://tilapiasource.com/
If you live in a state where tilapia are regulated (like Florida) the variety of tilapia you may be able to purchase might be limited by law. You can check with your supplier or your local agricultural office for more information.
Bluegill is another popular fish. They are also called bream, brim, and sun perch. They are bonier than tilapia but also have a mild tasting flesh and mature quickly.
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| bluegill |
or here http://www.suttlefish.com/pricelist.html
or here http://www.theaquaponicstore.com/Aquaponics-Bluegill-s/136.htm
No matter what type of fish you pick, the fish will have the bacteria in their guts that will result in their poo being exactly what you need to break down the ammonia in the water that is into nitrites and then the nitrites into nitrates. The plant portion of the aquaponics system will use these nitrates as food and grow your veggies very large very fast.
What Equipment You Need for an Aquaponics System
An aquaponics system is a symbiotic marriage of plants and aquatic animals cultivated in a recirculating environment. There are various types of aquaponic systems used for growing vegetables or plants. Knowing how big you want your aquaponic system to be before you purchase it will allow you to set a budget. Read on to learn a little about the basic equipment needed for aquaponics systems.Fish Tanks and Stand Pipes and Tanks Stands
Aquaponics is a blend of aquatic animals living in an environment where they provide the nutrients for the plants or vegetables growing in the same water in which they live. To begin creating your aquaponics system, you will need to decide which fish and other fauna you would like to house and how many you need. They will need a tank to live in and the tank requires stand pipes. You will also need to position your tank on a steady area or stand.Clarifiers
You will need clarifiers for your aquaponics system. These are highly recommended as the best way to remove solids from the culture water. They also assist with the de-nitrification process and remove ammonia and nitrates. They are responsible for removing almost all of the water in the recirculation system and they can be used many times over with just marginal replacement needed from flushing the system to remove any solids that get trapped.Bio-filters
Keeping the water clean and balanced in your aquaponics system is essential to keep it running efficiently. Bio-filters are a great way of controlling water pollution by biologically degrading and processing pollutants. There are horizontal bio-filters and upright bio-filter tanks available as well as a range of other types.Oxygen Systems
Because you are keeping fish in your aquaponics systems, you will need an excellent oxygen distribution system. This is one of the must-have features as this is highly intrinsic to the health and growth of the fish. It will distribute oxygen to an optimum level suitable for the fish you have in your system.Pumps
You will need a pump (or multiple pumps, depending on your system set-up) and the pumps serve a very important purpose. They will pump the water around the system, allowing it to be cleaned as it goes through the bio-filter and will return the fresher, cleaner water to the tank for best results.Sundries
There are other smaller items needed to get your new aquaponics system up, running and performing as you need it to. Pipes and tubes and other accessories will be required and the best place to find them is in a kit found at a specialist store on website. Learn as much as you can about how aquaponics work before you commit to buying a complete system.Plants and Fish
You will want your aquaponics system to function well for both your plants and the aquatic creatures you want to live and grow in your system. Choose the right fish that support the plant environment for the best results.Overwintered crops, physical acquisition of seeds, workable soil, and gypsy ducks made us happy this week.
What made you happy this week?
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| The chard and garlic under the row cover are really taking off. |
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| Compared to the stuff planted the same week last fall outside the row cover, this garlic is at least an order of magnitude larger. Plus, the chickens may have eaten the unprotected garlic. |
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| Ducks in the front yard? We only saw them one day though, so they must be transients. Maybe we should build a second nest box in case any others stop by. |
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| The fruit trees and dandelions are starting to bloom. That led us to stand in the yard yelling at the trees to slow down, because our bees arent coming for another two weeks. That, in turn, led the neighbors to wonder if we had finally gone over the edge. But our fruit trees seem to be lagging the neighbors, so maybe it worked! |
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| Fresh chives for breakfast! |
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| We were able to start turning over some new garden beds, which was good since were already behind schedule on starting seeds and direct sowing things like onions. Our hope was that taking off the sod with a mattock and piling it on the bed would inspire the chickens to scratch through the clumps, in the process knocking off the topsoil. Unfortunately, they seemed mostly uninterested in it...until we took off the sod ourselves and covered it in compost. |
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| Seeds arrived! Time to get our plant on. |
What made you happy this week?
We had some extra buns and cabbage to use up recently, and we thought, "we oughta make a strata! What goes good with buns? Hamburgers, hot dogs...brats!" Having already done a hamburger-type strata, and having more of a hankering for brats than hot dogs, we forged ahead with a brat-themed strata.
The recipe:
1-1.5 lb. ground venison
2 medium onions, chopped
1 qt sauerkraut
Brat seasonings to taste, then doubled
Sliced bread or buns to make two layers in a 9" x 13" pan
1 lb shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
6 eggs
Enough milk to top up eggs to 3 cups total
Sauté the ground venison and onions in a frying pan over medium heat until meat is browned and onions are translucent, seasoning with favorite brat seasonings. Layer the bread, browned meat/onions, sauerkraut, and cheese in a 9" x 13" pan, starting with bread and ending with cheese, aiming for two layers each. Beat together eggs, and milk. Pour over layers and set in fridge for several hours or overnight. Bake at 350 °F for 50-55 min, until center is lightly set and top is golden brown. Allow to cool and top with favorite brat accoutrements.
Read More..
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| We started by sautéing a pound of ground venison (thanks Uncle Pete!) with a couple chopped, medium-size onions. For seasoning, we kind of winged it with whatever we had in the cupboard (and it wasnt bad by any means), but next time well probably follow expert recommendations a little closer. One thing that worked well, though, was to season the meat and onions extra heavy so we didnt have to add much to the rest of the dish. Similarly, we wanted sauerkraut, but had only cabbage and didnt want to wait several weeks to eat supper. So, we made up a sort of instant sauerkraut recipe that was passable, but something like this or this might have made Katies taste buds a little happier. |
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| We layered the sliced buns, meat/onion mix, sauerkraut, and some sharp cheddar in a 9" x 13" pan, whipped up a mix of six eggs topped up to 3 cups with milk, and poured it over the top. Into the oven at 350 °F for 50-60 min. Hey, that does actually smell like a brat! |
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| It goes great with traditional brat condiments--mustard and, if youre |
The recipe:
1-1.5 lb. ground venison
2 medium onions, chopped
1 qt sauerkraut
Brat seasonings to taste, then doubled
Sliced bread or buns to make two layers in a 9" x 13" pan
1 lb shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
6 eggs
Enough milk to top up eggs to 3 cups total
Sauté the ground venison and onions in a frying pan over medium heat until meat is browned and onions are translucent, seasoning with favorite brat seasonings. Layer the bread, browned meat/onions, sauerkraut, and cheese in a 9" x 13" pan, starting with bread and ending with cheese, aiming for two layers each. Beat together eggs, and milk. Pour over layers and set in fridge for several hours or overnight. Bake at 350 °F for 50-55 min, until center is lightly set and top is golden brown. Allow to cool and top with favorite brat accoutrements.
If youve been following this blog lately, you know that were engaged in a multi-week battle of wits with a pile of eggshells. Specifically, were trying to figure out a way to isolate calcium carbonate from eggshells to use as a leavening agent. The calcium carbonate is bound up in a matrix of protein that makes it less accessible for leavening action, so for maximum leavening effect, we have to either dissolve away the protein or dissolve away the calcium carbonate and then regenerate it. Last week, we tried boiling ground-up eggshells in lye to dissolve away the protein. (It didnt work very well, but at least the biscuits were tasty.) Today, we take a look at the other option--dissolving the calcium carbonate and regenerating it.
This is actually a problem thats bothered us since we wrote about grinding up eggshells way back when this blog was just an infant. While its usually possible to burn organic matter (e.g., proteins) off of inorganic residue (e.g., wood ash, glass, stainless steel) at 400-500 °C (750-930 °F), eggshells hold on to the organic matter from their protein until 900 °C (1650 °F). Unfortunately, at that temperature, our desired CaCO3 has transformed into lime (calcium oxide, CaO). Thus, its no surprise that when we put a pile of eggshells in our oven and set it to the clean cycle, our pile came back grayish-colored instead of the white color of pure CaCO3. (Although, we were surprised at the time since we hadnt done much reading on the topic!)
So, were 0-for-2 on getting our pure CaCO3 out of the eggshells at this point, but its worth noting two things. First, while we havent been able to get pure CaCO3 from eggshells, the gray powders from either the decomposed eggshells or the decomposed calcium acetate react much more vigorously with vinegar than the raw eggshells. Still not as vigorously as baking soda as the video below shows, but bubbles abound nonetheless. So, maybe the gray powders are worth trying as leavening.
Second, can we approximate a best-case scenario for obtaining pure CaCO3 from eggshells? Yes! We can get a bag of pure CaCO3 for a couple bucks at the local homebrew store. So while our blog post declaring victory on purifying CaCO3 from eggshells will have to wait until another day, we can still see what a best-case scenario for eggshell-based leavening would look like. Biscuit baking time!
Have you ever baked with eggshells or tried to isolate CaCO3 from them? How did it turn out?
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| The first thought we had was that the CaCO3 in the eggshells can be dissolved by the acetic acid in vinegar to make calcium acetate (Ca(Ac)2), which can be decomposed to CaCO3 around 400 °C. |
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| Unfortunately, some of the eggshell proteins are also apparently soluble in vinegar, and when we made calcium acetate by dissolving eggshells in vinegar and evaporating all the liquid, we ended up with a light-brown colored solid, which yielded a gray powder after a clean cycle in the oven (which gets close to 500 °C). We got a similar looking powder when we put ground whole eggshells through the oven clean cycle. |
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| The product from calcining eggshells in the rocket silo was actually a little darker colored. As a point of reference, were looking for CaCO3 as a fine, white powder. |
This is actually a problem thats bothered us since we wrote about grinding up eggshells way back when this blog was just an infant. While its usually possible to burn organic matter (e.g., proteins) off of inorganic residue (e.g., wood ash, glass, stainless steel) at 400-500 °C (750-930 °F), eggshells hold on to the organic matter from their protein until 900 °C (1650 °F). Unfortunately, at that temperature, our desired CaCO3 has transformed into lime (calcium oxide, CaO). Thus, its no surprise that when we put a pile of eggshells in our oven and set it to the clean cycle, our pile came back grayish-colored instead of the white color of pure CaCO3. (Although, we were surprised at the time since we hadnt done much reading on the topic!)
So, were 0-for-2 on getting our pure CaCO3 out of the eggshells at this point, but its worth noting two things. First, while we havent been able to get pure CaCO3 from eggshells, the gray powders from either the decomposed eggshells or the decomposed calcium acetate react much more vigorously with vinegar than the raw eggshells. Still not as vigorously as baking soda as the video below shows, but bubbles abound nonetheless. So, maybe the gray powders are worth trying as leavening.
Second, can we approximate a best-case scenario for obtaining pure CaCO3 from eggshells? Yes! We can get a bag of pure CaCO3 for a couple bucks at the local homebrew store. So while our blog post declaring victory on purifying CaCO3 from eggshells will have to wait until another day, we can still see what a best-case scenario for eggshell-based leavening would look like. Biscuit baking time!
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| Same recipe as last time, but only four sets this time: no leavening, gray CaCO3 from eggshells, white CaCO3 from the homebrew store, and NaHCO3 (baking soda). Very similar results as last time, too. The gray CaCO3 biscuits are definitely more risen than the no leavening control, and similar to the biscuits we baked last week from raw and lye-boiled eggshells. The white CaCO3 biscuits were noticeably more risen than the gray CaCO3 biscuits, but still couldnt hold a candle to the baking soda biscuits. |
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| The textures of both sets of CaCO3 biscuits were similar to last weeks results, too. Not completely cooked through at the 20 min mark, while the baking soda biscuits were definitely done. |
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| The effect is more pronounced for banana bread. Can you guess which loaf used gray CaCO3 from eggshells as leavening? (Hint: its not the one on the right--that one had baking soda.) The grand conclusion from all these experiments? Even though the CaCO3 releases carbon dioxide gas when mixed with an acid (same action as baking soda), the slower reaction kinetics mean that eggshell-based leavening cant get the job done. |
Have you ever baked with eggshells or tried to isolate CaCO3 from them? How did it turn out?
On the birthday of my friend and author Kimberly Burge, I post this video of her television interview on WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, which was aired when she was visiting her hometown of Cincinnati back in October. I finally finished reading The Born Frees, and I totally enjoyed reading the stories from the young ladies in Gugulethu and their interactions with Kimberly. If you havent picked up a copy of the book, I highly recommend it. (Your independent book store can special-order it for you. Or if you must use the big box commercial retailers, online and otherwise, you can also get the book that way. Kimberly is going around the country promoting the book. We hope to bring her to Albuquerque next year. Below the video are links to her recent promotional trip to the San Francisco Bay area.
San Francisco Trip
The Forum, Grace Cathedral (November 1)
A series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the issues of our day. Hosted by the clergy of Grace Cathedral, we invite leading public figures, musicians, theologians, artists and writers to bring the most innovative and interesting thinking to our public space, engaging our minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world.
San Francisco Theological Seminary (November 5)
Read More..
San Francisco Trip
The Forum, Grace Cathedral (November 1)
A series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the issues of our day. Hosted by the clergy of Grace Cathedral, we invite leading public figures, musicians, theologians, artists and writers to bring the most innovative and interesting thinking to our public space, engaging our minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world.
San Francisco Theological Seminary (November 5)
Members of Congress rely on their constituents to keep them informed of issues and concerns in their districts. By writing your members of Congress, you’ve made yourself a valuable source of information. Congressional aides figure you represent others, so your voice becomes amplified. Writing letters gives you voice and power. Taking the time to write tells your members of Congress that you’re serious and that they’re accountable to you. Exerpt from "Why Write to Congress", in Bread for the Worlds Take Action page.
Have you ever wondered what impact those letters to Congress, those meetings with congressional aides, those phone calls to Washington and the district office, those tweets, those letters to the editor are having?
The communications staff at Bread for the World put together these illustrations to show the progress against hunger since 1990 and the outcome of the advocacy efforts of grassroots members and staff during 2014 (illustrated in the five graphics below)
Remember those letters you wrote in 2014 urging Congress to reform food-aid programs? Legislators approved a set of reforms, and as a result, 1.5 million more people around the world have been fed.
These results, of course, did not occur in a vacuum. Bread for the World works in a number of coalitions (like the Modernizing Foreign Asissistance Network), and many other organizations and their members contributed to the outcome of the legislative initiatives.
This year, Bread for the World members (in partnership with other nutrition advocates) urged Congress to reauthorize child nutrition programs in our country, through our Feed Our Children campaign. In New Mexico, members of 18 congregations wrote more than 2,000 letters to Congress around this issue. Stay tuned for legislative updates.
Here are the graphics for the advocacy outcomes for 2014.
Food Aid Reform:
Circle of Protection:
Poverty-Focused Development Assistance
Immigration Reform
New USAID Strategy
Read More..
The communications staff at Bread for the World put together these illustrations to show the progress against hunger since 1990 and the outcome of the advocacy efforts of grassroots members and staff during 2014 (illustrated in the five graphics below)
Remember those letters you wrote in 2014 urging Congress to reform food-aid programs? Legislators approved a set of reforms, and as a result, 1.5 million more people around the world have been fed.
These results, of course, did not occur in a vacuum. Bread for the World works in a number of coalitions (like the Modernizing Foreign Asissistance Network), and many other organizations and their members contributed to the outcome of the legislative initiatives.
This year, Bread for the World members (in partnership with other nutrition advocates) urged Congress to reauthorize child nutrition programs in our country, through our Feed Our Children campaign. In New Mexico, members of 18 congregations wrote more than 2,000 letters to Congress around this issue. Stay tuned for legislative updates.
Here are the graphics for the advocacy outcomes for 2014.
Food Aid Reform:
Circle of Protection:
Poverty-Focused Development Assistance
Immigration Reform
New USAID Strategy
Rabu, 30 Maret 2016
Things are progressing in finding solutions to developing more environmentally friendly feeds for use in Aquaculture. Feeds with more vegetable based ingredients, leading to further reductions in fish meal and fish oil requirements.
Just found this interesting story by Megan Ogilvie, Special to The Star.
(April 14, 2006) - A browse through the seafood section of your local grocery store may soon reveal a new dinner choice: vegetarian salmon.
A team of Canadian scientists have found that farm-raised salmon can be fed a diet high in vegetable oil without suffering any ill effects. This is good news for fish farmers since it will cost less to feed their stocks. But the consumer may reap the biggest benefit because the fish will have lower levels of contaminants.
The results, presented last week at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Canterbury, England, were met with excitement by people in the aquaculture industry, says Colin Brauner, one of the lead authors of the study and a professor of zoology at the University of British Columbia.
"There is some concern that farmed fish have high levels of some contaminants," says Brauner.
Farm-raised salmon are currently fed pellets made primarily of fishmeal and oil derived from processing wild marine fish such as anchovies, which can be tainted with contaminants, including PCBs and dioxins.
Scientists are eager to find out whether farm-raised fish will thrive on alternative diets that are lower in fishmeal and fish oil and higher in vegetable oils, says Brauner.
The Canadian research may help answer that question. The study found that up to 75 per cent of the dietary fat in a farm-raised salmons diet can come from canola oil — the other 25 per cent comes from fishmeal or fish oil — without the fish suffering any negative health effects. The seven-month feeding trial on more than 7,000 spring Chinook salmon investigated four different diets, with the canola oil diet providing optimal results.
See the entire article at: This Link
This is the type of research that we need more of. Good research in nutrition and feed formulation can go a long way into finding methods to reduce costs and increase safety.
Read More..
Just found this interesting story by Megan Ogilvie, Special to The Star.
(April 14, 2006) - A browse through the seafood section of your local grocery store may soon reveal a new dinner choice: vegetarian salmon.
A team of Canadian scientists have found that farm-raised salmon can be fed a diet high in vegetable oil without suffering any ill effects. This is good news for fish farmers since it will cost less to feed their stocks. But the consumer may reap the biggest benefit because the fish will have lower levels of contaminants.
The results, presented last week at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Canterbury, England, were met with excitement by people in the aquaculture industry, says Colin Brauner, one of the lead authors of the study and a professor of zoology at the University of British Columbia.
"There is some concern that farmed fish have high levels of some contaminants," says Brauner.
Farm-raised salmon are currently fed pellets made primarily of fishmeal and oil derived from processing wild marine fish such as anchovies, which can be tainted with contaminants, including PCBs and dioxins.
Scientists are eager to find out whether farm-raised fish will thrive on alternative diets that are lower in fishmeal and fish oil and higher in vegetable oils, says Brauner.
The Canadian research may help answer that question. The study found that up to 75 per cent of the dietary fat in a farm-raised salmons diet can come from canola oil — the other 25 per cent comes from fishmeal or fish oil — without the fish suffering any negative health effects. The seven-month feeding trial on more than 7,000 spring Chinook salmon investigated four different diets, with the canola oil diet providing optimal results.
See the entire article at: This Link
This is the type of research that we need more of. Good research in nutrition and feed formulation can go a long way into finding methods to reduce costs and increase safety.
NorthernAquaFarms.Com is a source for informative content and resources concerning Aquaculture, Aqua Farming, the environment, fish and seafood. We feature general information pages, fresh daily news items, special industry articles, a book store, a resource directory and other resources.
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The goal of this website is to provide useful online resources to industry visitors and the general public. Many of our visitors are interested in cottage industry farm initiatives, urban agriculture, family run farms and/or practical integration of Aquaculture with other agriculture activities. Other readers have a general interest in the industry or seek information concerning fish farming, seafood products and related topics. Whatever your reason for visiting we hope that you find this website helpful.
Selasa, 29 Maret 2016
A topic of considerable discussions and opinions, not all of which are based on facts, indeed some appear to be based largely on junk science. This is my starting post in a future series of posts presenting reference studies, articles and good science publications relating to Aquaculture.
From Experience: Fish Farmers are necessitated to become good stewards of the environment, the nature of their industry and businesses dictate that they do. Aquaculture requires clean growing waters to maintain a good level of production. Therefore, the industry must encourage environmentally friendly practices and has indeed taken many practical steps to protect local environments. In fact without ensuring protection of the environment, itself, the industry would suffer.
Exerts from George W Chamberlain in an article titled “FARMED SEAFOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT: RESPONDING TO OUR CRITICS” published in the Global Aquaculture Advocate, December 1999, vol. 2, #6
…..Is it environmentally responsible to buy and sell farmed seafood? This is the question increasingly being asked of consumers and food retailers alike.
Consumers do need to know more about the seafood products they buy and the impact of their purchases. Unfortunately, only one side of the story is being told. As aquaculturists, often more focused on fish farming than public relations, we need to respond clearly with the facts.
Lets start with the most important fact: Aquaculture is the only sustainable mechanism to increase seafood production…..
….From the beginning, mankind turned to the seas for food, and the seas were plentiful. In the past 20 years, however, the oceans have reached their limit. World landings of edible seafood gradually have leveled off around 60 million metric tons per year. Additional fishing pressure only depletes wild stocks.
The solution to this crisis is farming - the same solution mankind developed ages ago when wild game became scarce. Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms, relieves pressure on wild fishery stocks and raises food production in a sustainable way. It is a young industry, with a bright future.
In a recent New York Times interview, management guru Peter Drucker predicted that one of the new centurys most exciting industries was not the Internet, but fish farming. Yet, just as our ancestors could scarcely imagine that the vast oceans would one day be fished to their limit, our own generation struggles to grasp the tremendous potential of aquaculture…..
Full article can be found at this ChefTalk.com Link
Read More..
From Experience: Fish Farmers are necessitated to become good stewards of the environment, the nature of their industry and businesses dictate that they do. Aquaculture requires clean growing waters to maintain a good level of production. Therefore, the industry must encourage environmentally friendly practices and has indeed taken many practical steps to protect local environments. In fact without ensuring protection of the environment, itself, the industry would suffer.
Exerts from George W Chamberlain in an article titled “FARMED SEAFOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT: RESPONDING TO OUR CRITICS” published in the Global Aquaculture Advocate, December 1999, vol. 2, #6
…..Is it environmentally responsible to buy and sell farmed seafood? This is the question increasingly being asked of consumers and food retailers alike.
Consumers do need to know more about the seafood products they buy and the impact of their purchases. Unfortunately, only one side of the story is being told. As aquaculturists, often more focused on fish farming than public relations, we need to respond clearly with the facts.
Lets start with the most important fact: Aquaculture is the only sustainable mechanism to increase seafood production…..
….From the beginning, mankind turned to the seas for food, and the seas were plentiful. In the past 20 years, however, the oceans have reached their limit. World landings of edible seafood gradually have leveled off around 60 million metric tons per year. Additional fishing pressure only depletes wild stocks.
The solution to this crisis is farming - the same solution mankind developed ages ago when wild game became scarce. Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms, relieves pressure on wild fishery stocks and raises food production in a sustainable way. It is a young industry, with a bright future.
In a recent New York Times interview, management guru Peter Drucker predicted that one of the new centurys most exciting industries was not the Internet, but fish farming. Yet, just as our ancestors could scarcely imagine that the vast oceans would one day be fished to their limit, our own generation struggles to grasp the tremendous potential of aquaculture…..
Full article can be found at this ChefTalk.com Link
I first learned about aquaponics during the 2009 Cape Land and Sea Harvest local food festival on Cape Cod, MA. In celebration of all things local and delicious, the weekend includes tours of farms, and I was intrigued to see the unique description of an aquaponic farm in the event listings. Their description of the closed-loop growing system sounded astoundingly logical, and it immediately appealed to my interest in sustainability and food production.
As a recent college grad, I hadn’t yet decided in which part of the broad field of environmentalism I would like to specialize. After a tour of E&T Farms, however, I was inspired and I came away with a desire to pursue aquaponics as a career. Now, I never envisioned myself a traditional farmer - the economics are brutal - but many aspects of it did appeal to me, like working with plants, being outside, and managing a small business. Aquaponics suddenly offered a more attractive, viable method for me to farm, and its environmental benefits sweetened the deal.
When I think about a commercial aquaponics operation, I see it as an opportunity for me to produce enough food to have a measurable positive impact on my local environment and food system; to do challenging, hands-on work that utilizes my creativity; and to farm close to markets without a need for expensive tracts of land and food transport.
Of course, to make any of this a reality, I need capital and experience. So that’s what I’ve set out to do, with a solid job in the energy efficiency industry and a hobby level aquaponics setup. As I gain experience and learn more about the opportunities and challenges of commercial operations, Im mindful to re-evaluate whether it is still right for me.
So I invite you to join me on my journey and to share your thoughts and ideas. By documenting my work, I hope to provide valuable insights to readers and to learn from you as well.
Read More..
As a recent college grad, I hadn’t yet decided in which part of the broad field of environmentalism I would like to specialize. After a tour of E&T Farms, however, I was inspired and I came away with a desire to pursue aquaponics as a career. Now, I never envisioned myself a traditional farmer - the economics are brutal - but many aspects of it did appeal to me, like working with plants, being outside, and managing a small business. Aquaponics suddenly offered a more attractive, viable method for me to farm, and its environmental benefits sweetened the deal.
When I think about a commercial aquaponics operation, I see it as an opportunity for me to produce enough food to have a measurable positive impact on my local environment and food system; to do challenging, hands-on work that utilizes my creativity; and to farm close to markets without a need for expensive tracts of land and food transport.
Of course, to make any of this a reality, I need capital and experience. So that’s what I’ve set out to do, with a solid job in the energy efficiency industry and a hobby level aquaponics setup. As I gain experience and learn more about the opportunities and challenges of commercial operations, Im mindful to re-evaluate whether it is still right for me.
So I invite you to join me on my journey and to share your thoughts and ideas. By documenting my work, I hope to provide valuable insights to readers and to learn from you as well.
When we said back in February that we wanted to learn new knots, the knot we had in mind (although we didnt know it then) was the truckers hitch. Its one of the best knots for tying stuff, such as a canoe, pile of lumber, or Christmas tree, onto the top of a car. Of course, the advent of ratchet straps has made knot tying on cargo a dying art, but we had a chance this weekend to, well, practice a dying art. Actually, as long as were at it, why dont we try to see how many knots we can use in this exercise?
What are your favorite knots? Do you know of another knot-tying resource with cool animations like netknots? Let us know in the comments section below!
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| The first step is to head out in -9 °F weather to find a tree. Tying knots with frozen fingers builds character! Looks like this lovely specimen is an Engelman Spruce, Picea engelmannii, with crowded growing conditions and a buck rub on the trunk. Yup, this must be our tree! |
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| When we got it back to the car, we laced it up in a tarp to keep the branches from flapping in the wind and/or scratching our car too much. (Some of these pictures might seem out of order since we forgot to bring the camera on the trip. Or, yes, the national forest does look a lot like our driveway!) |
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| We took one end of the rope and fed it through the first corner grommet, then tied a bunch of overhand knots in the same place so it wouldnt slip out. |
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| We did the same thing on the last corner grommet, except with a loop of rope since there was a lot of extra. |
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| With the extra we kind of mangled it together, but its sort of a clove hitch around the loops of rope. We tossed the excess rope inside the tarp by the tree and put the tree on top of the car. As a side note, the site linked there is one of the best knot-tying resources we could find. The animations are super easy to follow (like, way easier than trying to figure out what we did by looking at these pictures). |
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| Now to affix the tarped tree to the car. On the back side, we started with a simple noose knot, plus a half-hitch for extra security. |
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| We threw the rope over the top of the tree to a loop at the front of the car, and finally we get to practice our truckers hitch! Whatever trucker invented that hitch was a pretty bright guy. Note that making the tag end a loop instead of pulling the thing all the way through will make it easier to untie later on and work better if there is a lot of extra. The tradeoff is that if we tie another knot with the extra, we risk pulling out this knot. |
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| We threw the extra back over the top of the tree and tied another truckers hitch to the inside of the car on the opposite side. (Practice makes perfect!) |
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| There! Secure atop the car. (Actually, this picture was taken before we tied the second truckers hitch. So, dont worry! We didnt leave the rope in the wheel well like that.) |
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| Also, since we brought along the ratchet straps to be safe, we might as well use em... |
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| And we made it home with a 100% survival rate! What a nicely shaped but sparsely packed tree. Thanks for helping us get it home, knots! |
What are your favorite knots? Do you know of another knot-tying resource with cool animations like netknots? Let us know in the comments section below!
Twas an eventful time this week on the homestead, bolstered by some nice weather and a couple snowy days. Check out what happened this week at THL!
What fun stuff happened on your homestead this week?
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| A seven-egg day! That means all of our hens are definitely laying. (We were pretty sure thats been the case since mid-January, but this was the first time we got a horizontal bingo on our egg-tracking chalkboard table. Vertical bingo has been achieved by our Red Star and New Hampshire Red, who have laid eggs on 21 and 15 consecutive days, respectively (also 25 out of 26 days for Red Star and 23 out of 26 days for New Hampshire). |
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| Monday was a snow day, which we used to make a picnic table. Happy belated valentines day Katie! |
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| But by Friday, things had thawed out enough that we could see the feral poppies pushing through the leaves with new growth. Everything is now covered in snow again, but thats ok! We know whats underneath. |
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| First try at isolating potato starch. It works! It turned out ok, but we want to tweak a few things before we turn it into a full blog post. |
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| A liver-and-onion strata (with kale)! Delicious, packed full of vitamins, and appearing in our upcoming strata cookbook. |
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| Seed catalogs! Wherefore lyeth such a slippery slope of inspiration upon our kitchen table? |
What fun stuff happened on your homestead this week?
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