University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Bernie Patterson gets a tour of the commercial aquaponic system at Nelson and Pade, Inc., from Erik Amend, a project planning specialist.

UW-Stevens Point opens Aquaponics Innovation Center

The Aquaponics Innovation Center, a one-of-a-kind partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Nelson and Pade Inc., Montello, officially opened April 23.
 
“This is really a spectacular day at one of the most amazing facilities you’ll see,” Chris Cirmo, dean of the College of Letters and Science at UW-Stevens Point told guests from the state of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin System and the aquaponics industry.
 
UW Regent Vice President Regina Millner called it a transformational partnership for education and economic development in Wisconsin. “The efforts already have created and retained jobs,” she said.
 
The center is a 4,800-square-foot facility housed in Nelson and Pade’s new state-of-the-art, controlled-environment greenhouse. Construction began in August 2014 and was completed earlier this year.
 
The center will provide education and resources for economic and workforce development. New business innovation and ways to overcome obstacles for this rapidly growing food-production industry will be explored.
 
“Our partners at UW-Stevens Point are providing amazing opportunities for education,” said John Pade, co-founder and co-owner of Nelson and Pade Inc. The company is a leader in designing, building and operating aquaponic systems.
 
The Aquaponics Innovation Center is equipped with six fish and soilless plant production systems to conduct and replicate research benefiting the aquaponics industry. Faculty, students and industry representatives will conduct research and demonstrations there.
 
A $677,500 state economic development incentive grant made this project possible.
 
Research is about to begin on using walleye, a popular cold-water fish, in aquaponic systems. Tilapia is most commonly used. It grows quickly in warm water, which also benefits greens and other vegetables grown in the integrated system. Fish raised at UW-Stevens Point’s Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, Bayfield, will be used for aquaponics research in Montello.
 
Nearly 90 percent of seafood consumed in the United States is imported, noted Tricia Braun, deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., said at the opening. The seafood trade deficit exceeds $10 billion annually, the largest trade deficit of all U.S. agriculture products.
 
Nelson and Pade’s goal is to provide global food security through efficient, economically sustainable aquaponics systems. The co-founders approached Chris Hartleb, a biology professor at UW-Stevens Point, about offering courses to meet the need for science-based knowledge to manage these systems.
 
The aquaponics industry is growing, as is the demand for skilled managers and workers in new and existing aquaponics businesses, said Rebecca Nelson, co-founder and co-owner. “Each year, the number of aquaponic farms in the U.S. more than doubles, and the size of the newest farms are much larger than they were just a few years ago.”
 
UW-Stevens Point was the first four-year accredited university in the United States to offer a semester-long aquaponics class, developed and taught by Hartleb, Nelson and Pade. UW-Stevens Point began offering a professional aquaponics certificate program in fall 2014 and has the only aquaculture minor at a higher education institution in Wisconsin.
 
The innovation center affirms Wisconsin is a national leader in the aquaponics industry, said Hartleb, UW-Stevens Point director of aquaponics and aquaculture. “From an economic standpoint, it positions UW-Stevens Point as a leader in aquaponic food production workforce training, business advancement and industry discovery.”
 
Aquaponics combines aquaculture and hydroponics in one integrated, soilless system. Nutrients from fish waste feed the plants, and plants naturally filter the water for fish. Nelson and Pade’s 13,500-square-foot facility demonstrates its commercial aquaponic systems, which produce 1,000 heads of lettuce, 100 pounds of fish and a variety of vegetables weekly, year-round.
 
An integrated, commercial aquaponic system in a controlled environment can grow six times more food on one-sixth of the space and one-sixth the water outdoor soil farming requires, Nelson said.
 
“It would be hard to underestimate the impact of the work being done at this facility and this state to find sustainable solutions to global food shortages,” said Patterson, who noted that one of nine people in the world do not have enough food to eat.