Commercial aquaponics.. viable or not.. and why? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T13:53:30Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/commercial-aquaponics-viable-or-not-and-why?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A301871&feed=yes&xn_auth=noGlad someone is thinking in a…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-08-23:4778851:Comment:3855522012-08-23T05:06:30.014ZMichael A. Whitehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MichaelAWhite
<p>Glad someone is thinking in a economical fashion. <br></br> <br></br> <cite>Nate Storey said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/commercial-aquaponics-viable-or-not-and-why?id=4778851%3ATopic%3A301670&page=2#4778851Comment302555"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>What no one is talking about is Opportunity Cost. Unless someone can answer me how they are going to outcompete hydroponic producers on a cost/quality basis, I'm going to say that…</p>
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<p>Glad someone is thinking in a economical fashion. <br/> <br/> <cite>Nate Storey said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/commercial-aquaponics-viable-or-not-and-why?id=4778851%3ATopic%3A301670&page=2#4778851Comment302555"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>What no one is talking about is Opportunity Cost. Unless someone can answer me how they are going to outcompete hydroponic producers on a cost/quality basis, I'm going to say that raft won't work. I've done the numbers, and they don't add up- especially in greenhouse production. Rafts were never supposed to be used outside of the tropics and sub-tropics. They aren't productive enough to justify a greenhouse- especially with the intensive capital entry costs of AP production. So, a challenge: How will you outcompete the hydroponics guy next door? Niche markets? (good luck with that one) Product differentiation? (if you're doing conventional sales, packaging, etc. it isn't going to happen) On a cost basis? (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. . .) Until someone can answer this and prove it, the answer to raft produciton in Northern climates has to be a resounding "NO." </p>
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</blockquote> Austin: I have no plans to o…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-08-07:4778851:Comment:3802872012-08-07T12:05:05.048ZGeorgehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/Geoge
<p>Austin: I have no plans to operate commercially but I'd like to hear your theory.</p>
<p>Austin: I have no plans to operate commercially but I'd like to hear your theory.</p> From a strategic point of vie…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-08-07:4778851:Comment:3803582012-08-07T06:47:41.170ZAustin Hsuhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AustinHsu
<p>From a strategic point of view, most soil-less agricultural produce compete based on differentiating from industrial agricultural products, marketing as higher quality or organic. I have yet to hear of a soil-less agricultural farm competing based on cost-leadership. The biggest contrast in this case is scale. Industrial agriculture is a lot more automated and mechanized these days, which poses many barriers for soil-less agriculture to compete in anything other than…</p>
<p>From a strategic point of view, most soil-less agricultural produce compete based on differentiating from industrial agricultural products, marketing as higher quality or organic. I have yet to hear of a soil-less agricultural farm competing based on cost-leadership. The biggest contrast in this case is scale. Industrial agriculture is a lot more automated and mechanized these days, which poses many barriers for soil-less agriculture to compete in anything other than <span style="text-decoration: underline;">perceived</span> higher quality. Produce is most commonly seen as a commodity, where differentiation is already difficult to achieve. I have a theory about how soil-less agriculture will break down these barriers, which have to do with innovation of the traditional business models and re-examining the fundamental customer value proposition.</p> Yes TCLynx I have watched the…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-28:4778851:Comment:3426182012-05-28T14:57:24.636ZKim Lavalleehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KimLavallee
<p>Yes TCLynx I have watched them, they are wonderful. I am really hoping that I can get my commercial system designed by greenacres organics though. I have emailed them and are anxiously awaiting their reply.</p>
<p>Yes TCLynx I have watched them, they are wonderful. I am really hoping that I can get my commercial system designed by greenacres organics though. I have emailed them and are anxiously awaiting their reply.</p> Rob Torcellinitag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-24:4778851:Comment:3400972012-05-24T19:09:42.780ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p><a href="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/profile/RobTorcellini?xg_source=profiles_memberList" target="_self">Rob Torcellini</a></p>
<p><a href="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/profile/RobTorcellini?xg_source=profiles_memberList" target="_self">Rob Torcellini</a></p> Rob?
tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-24:4778851:Comment:3394912012-05-24T17:29:49.614ZKim Lavalleehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KimLavallee
<p>Rob?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rob?</p>
<p> </p> Kim, Nelson and Pade sell com…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-24:4778851:Comment:3396082012-05-24T12:41:05.976ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Kim, Nelson and Pade sell commercial systems for controlled climate growing but in a dome greenhouse you might want to custom design a system to use the space to the fullest extent. Have you been watching Rob's geodesic dome greenhouse build videos?</p>
<p>Kim, Nelson and Pade sell commercial systems for controlled climate growing but in a dome greenhouse you might want to custom design a system to use the space to the fullest extent. Have you been watching Rob's geodesic dome greenhouse build videos?</p> Dino,
We are setting up a yea…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-05-23:4778851:Comment:3389822012-05-23T23:28:18.423ZKim Lavalleehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KimLavallee
<p>Dino,</p>
<p>We are setting up a year round 40 ft. geodesic dome greenhouse in Northern Ontario (about 3 hours north of Sudbury) we will rely on solar strictly so no heating costs. We are having trouble sourcing the commercial system. We will be the only producers of fresh fruits and vegetables within 150 mile radius (eat local Ontario). Even though we aren't built yet I have agreement from the local grocery store to buy our produce. Now its just to get the system built and…</p>
<p>Dino,</p>
<p>We are setting up a year round 40 ft. geodesic dome greenhouse in Northern Ontario (about 3 hours north of Sudbury) we will rely on solar strictly so no heating costs. We are having trouble sourcing the commercial system. We will be the only producers of fresh fruits and vegetables within 150 mile radius (eat local Ontario). Even though we aren't built yet I have agreement from the local grocery store to buy our produce. Now its just to get the system built and running.</p>
<p> </p> 6 acres is an insane amount o…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-04-25:4778851:Comment:3253682012-04-25T04:16:29.665ZJonathan Kadish NYC AA Chairhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JonathanKadish
<p>6 acres is an insane amount of product to market. Imagine the logistics behind making that profitable. I can't imagine that bigger is better when it comes to quality food.</p>
<p>6 acres is an insane amount of product to market. Imagine the logistics behind making that profitable. I can't imagine that bigger is better when it comes to quality food.</p> I know someone with 6 acres o…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-04-25:4778851:Comment:3254452012-04-25T01:39:54.228ZBrianhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/Brian649
<p>I know someone with 6 acres of hydroponics in Florida and it's not even close to profitable because of the input costs including labor. They are closer to profitable each year, but it takes time. They have to retail a lot of the output at farmers markets to earn more money each year.</p>
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<p>They also have a 15 acre in ground organic farm that is basically break even, but they didn't have to buy the land. They are renting at extremely reduced…</p>
<p>I know someone with 6 acres of hydroponics in Florida and it's not even close to profitable because of the input costs including labor. They are closer to profitable each year, but it takes time. They have to retail a lot of the output at farmers markets to earn more money each year.</p>
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<p>They also have a 15 acre in ground organic farm that is basically break even, but they didn't have to buy the land. They are renting at extremely reduced rates.</p>
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<p>Brian<br/><br/><cite>Averan said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/commercial-aquaponics-viable-or-not-and-why?id=4778851%3ATopic%3A301670&page=10#4778851Comment305348"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Why would hydroponics be cheaper than aquaponics? I thought that was the whole point, we only need to buy cheap fish food whereas they're buying all sorts of chemical fertilizers and pH balancers and other weird chemicals that are much more expensive.</p>
<p>Peter, do you know the name of the place in Emeryville?</p>
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