[Sc-aquaponics] Aquaponics Survey by Virginia Tech

[Smith, Matthew A.]

All,

please see below the call for assistance with a VT aquaponic survey! The survey is now live.

____________________________________

The number of aquaponics producers in the U.S. has continued to grow; yet there is a lack of high quality, publishable scientific information on commercial aquaponics production. Such information is needed to provide guidance to those seeking to move to full-time aquaponics production, by lenders when reviewing loan applications and for policy makers who do not fully understand aquaponics production.  Most information available comes from laboratories or farms associated with universities – not real working commercial farms, and the economics, especially, of such systems are not equivalent to what happens on actual farms and in greenhouses across the country.

We are contacting you to ask for your participation in a survey on U.S. aquaponics production. The Recirculating Farms Coalition has asked us to conduct a study on the economic feasibility of commercial recirculating aquaponics systems in the mainland U.S. We plan to develop a comprehensive economic feasibility analysis of various types of aquaponics systems in various regions of the U.S. as well as publish online a manual that summarizes current practices of commercial aquaponics systems along with corresponding economic models. Our hope is that this information will decrease the timeline between start up and profit and to offer existing knowledge in an open source format.

Your participation is essential to the success of this project. Your individual business information will be maintained in an entirely confidential manner. The models created will be developed in a way that will not reveal any individual farm’s confidential information.



The survey is open to all U.S. aquaponics producers; please limit one survey response per business/organization. The survey should only take about 15 minutes of your time.



The survey will be accessible online from August 18th to September 6th through this link:



https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9N5GMLMjDAM7lvT



Should you have any questions or if you would like additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact us (jvansenten at vt.edu<mailto:jvansenten at vt.edu>).



Thank you for your time and consideration,


Jonathan van Senten, PhD
Virginia Tech Seafood AREC
Email: jvansenten at vt.edu<mailto:jvansenten at vt.edu>
Tel: 757-727-4861
Cel: 954-297-7940


Regards,

Matt

[The Ohio State University]
Matthew A. Smith
Extension Aquaculture Specialist
OSU South Centers
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
1864 Shyville Road, Piketon, OH 45661
740.289.2071 ext 121 Office / 740.289.4591 Fax
smith.11460 at osu.edu<mailto:smith.11460 at osu.edu> osu.edu<http://osu.edu/>
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