By Katie Bedgood, Lakeview FFA Chapter Member

This past week at the 94th annual FFA convention I had the opportunity to sit in on a workshop given by Enterprise Aquatics. During this workshop they taught us different things that go into aquatic farming.

There are three big things when dealing with aquatic farming which are recirculating aquaculture systems, hydroponic systems, and aquaponic systems. Recirculating aquaculture systems is a new way to farm fish. Instead of growing fish outdoors we now have the technology to have big indoor fish tanks with a controlled environment and an almost completely closed circuit.

Next is hydrophonic systems and that is a way to grow plants without soil but instead with water filled with nutrients. The best plants to grow are greens, root crops, herbs, and more.

Lastly, we have aquaponic systems which are pretty much a combination of recirculating aquaculture systems and hydroponic systems. Using this system you use the waste from your fish to put into the water for your plants, so they get the nutrients and can grow. This is a sustainable way of cultivating food without using soil and is a fast and upcoming thing used more and more in agriculture.

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