Aquaponics as a Business opportunity

How to Start your own Aquaponics Business at Home

credit to http://www.aquaponicsandyou.com/

With many people looking for ways to increase their income these days, starting a home-based business is an attractive option. There are several major hurdles to clear before you can start earning any money from a new enterprise, not the least of which is funding. Many new businesses need a huge injection of capital before any return can be realised and this factor alone prevents many from getting off the ground. An aquaponics business is the exception.

Unlike most other types of business, setting up an aquaponics farm does not cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. While the actual set-up cost obviously varies depending on the size of the system, experts claim that most investors can expect to see a return in a relatively short period of time. Some claim it is possible to have the whole system paid off in a twelve month period.

Aquaponic farming combines aquaculture and hydroponics. Fish are kept in a tank and the water from the tank is pumped through the plants and back into the tank, in a continuous process. Aquarium water is rich in nutrients because of the waste products expelled by the fish and it is these nutrients that the plants take up and use to grow. The water that is returned to the fish tank has been purified by the plants; this keeps the tank water clean and healthy for the fish.

The types of plants that are grown in an aquaponics farm are generally herbs and vegetables. Because they are not treated with fertilizers and the usual garden chemicals, they are considered to be organic produce. The fish you buy to stock your tanks can be eating varieties and this gives you another product to sell. Both the fish and the vegetables grow at the same time, using the same system. Organic produce attracts a premium price at point of sale and is keenly sought by consumers.

The main advantages of starting an aquaponics farm as a business include the low start-up costs, low production costs and the ease with which the system can be managed. You don’t need to rent or buy any space to carry out your business as you can use space in your own yard, garage or other parts of your home. Organic produce is becoming a popular product, especially at farmers’ markets and other local events, so selling your product should be quite easy.

If you are looking for ways to bring in extra money or you want to start your own business, take a close look at how to start your own aquaponics business. You don’t need to be a gardener and you don’t need any specialised skills to succeed in this type of enterprise.

Commercial Aquaponics and Profitability

credit to http://www.greenacreaquaponics.com/

The commercial viability of aquaponics is likely the hottest contested topic on most aquaponic forums today and is the million dollar question that everyone wants answered. While I’m still not willing to make my financial data public (you would be amazed how many people have asked), I will say that we are indeed a profitable farm based on revenue generated by the farm alone. Although our farm’s revenue is derived in diverse ways, even after extracting any non farm related revenue from things such as consulting, education or system sales, our Green Acre farm is indeed profitable on it’s farm generated merits alone. So it then begs the question, why have alternate streams of revenue if farming alone can be profitable? For several reasons. Let’s take a look at each one.

Reason 1 - A business with multiple revenue streams is a more viable, resilient business model. Having multiple revenue streams means a business can be more nimble and weather setbacks more easily. Literally. Setbacks from the weather are a very real possibility and probability for any kind of farming venture unless you farm in a controlled environment setting but even in controlled ag, crop losses can occur due to pest damage or disease. However having multiple streams can help insure there is still cash flow when a crop loss occurs. This is especially important for the aquaponic farmer as crop insurance isn’t yet an option. 

Reason 2 - Direct farm generated revenue from crops is rarely a consistent amount and alternate streams can supplement in between crop harvests and rotations. This actually is probably a little less true in aquaponic farming then in traditional Ag where all of a farms revenue might come in a two month period when the watermelons are ready to harvest. For we aquaponic farmers though, a carefully planned crop schedule and rotation can help insure a constant and consistent harvest of some crops such as lettuce and herbs but even the revenue generated by these will fluctuate with the weather and season.

Reason 3 - Alternate streams of revenue can subsidize a small farm business while it grows its operation to a size large enough to generate enough revenue on farm sales alone.Ah, now this is the ultimate goal for us and most likely for most aquaponic farming hopefuls; have a farm large enough to pay all the bills and then some. It’s not that the farm is unsuccessful or not profitable right now but its simply not large enough yet to produce enough revenue to support two individuals entirely. Understand though that this is purely a function of not having enough start up or expansion capital for a small farm business to create a large enough farm right out of the gate. However, just because a farm’s revenue is limited due to grow space and production does not mean it’s not a profitable business.

Reason 4 - Alternate revenue streams can self fund farm growth and expansions. Lets face it, expanding an aquaponic farm can be pricey and certainly more then its soil counterpart. Have we stumbled on the one drawback of aquaponics? Perhaps, but I will save that discussion for another blog but adding on additional grow space can easily incur a capital outlay of $20k or more or as little as $15 a square foot just for the system or as much as $100 a square foot depending on how you build and source it. We would have to sell an awful lot of lettuce to fund expanding our farm from direct farm sales. Quite honestly, this is the single greatest driver for our alternate streams because our goal is to have enough grow space for the farm alone to support itself and us and so far 100% of our expansion has been self funded from alternate revenue streams.