WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2023 35 (CONTINUED ON PAGE 36) successful and safe operations. A lack of training opportunities compounds the issue. An apparent trend at successful farms is that one family member is responsible for the farm, and the other(s) are employed outside of the aquaponics business. Fifty percent of producers in this survey spent >20 hr/wk working on the farm, with 20 percent devoting >40 hr/wk and a handful spending >60 hr/wk, with a positive correlation between farm size and labor requirement (Pattillo et al. 2022b). With labor representing up to 49 percent of the total operating budget (Quagrainie et al. 2017), this component often determines economic viability and longevity of the farm (Love et al. 2015b). Solutions Production. With high infrastructure costs, selecting crops that maximize returns based on market value, time to harvest and grow area required is key. Growers need to approach their grow space with an economic lens. The cost of everything needed to grow a crop needs to be less than the value of that product. Often that does not translate to simply growing a higher-value crop. Value/m2 per week can be greater with a crop that is planted at a higher density and has reduced time to harvest, even if the individual value (cost/head) is low (Table 1). A grower focused on tomato production may not see a return on investment for three months or more. Lettuce growing in that space would have been harvested three times, injecting money into the business at quicker intervals. Producers expressed the desire to network with and receive mentorship from skilled producers. Networking at state and regional aquaculture association meetings can connect producers and encourage grassroots solutions to local and regional challenges. Labor. A shortage of skilled labor is not exclusive to commercial aquaponics. To expand production capacity, workforce development programs must be created and accessible to the public. Land-grant colleges, community colleges and high schools can work cooperatively to offer career training in aquaponics through work-study opportunities, paid internships, certificate degrees, dual-credit programs and project-based learning opportunities in the classroom. Exposure to diverse methods of aquaculture and agriculture can allow students and adult learners to fill positions as skilled workers, farm owners or managers, Extension agents and educators (Lakai et al. 2012). The bottom line is that, even if there is an adequate number of skilled workers, growers need to be able to afford to pay them. Research has a role to play here. The industry needs applied research studies that move beyond successful fish and plant combinations. We know how to grow fish and plants together, how do we make money doing it? A key question when planning research should be, “Does this make financial sense for the farmer.” If the answer is no, then it should not be billed as applied research. One way to do this is by considering how changes in equipment or production styles influence potential profitability. “How much money can I save if I buy low-cost LEDs?” “If I had less fish, could the savings in feed cost make me more money, even if my plant growth is reduced?” Simple changes can make big differences for producers. If investment and operational costs are reduced, the farm may be able to hire the skilled labor needed to expand to a profitable production capacity. Challenge 3: Markets Markets are the most important yet often overlooked factor to consider when planning a business. A proper market analysis of the prices and volume that can be expected for a particular product in a specific location should be carefully researched. Overestimating sales price and volume is a big mistake in business planning. Sales strategies can vary, but generally large volumes can be sold to a few buyers for lower unit prices or small volumes can be sold to many buyers for higher unit prices. Selling to a single buyer would be very convenient for a grower, eliminating the need to spend time and fuel on searching for customers and doing deliveries. Often, growers will approach a chef or a market outlet to make a sale and after seeing the quality of the product these buyers may commit to buying everything that can be produced, only to find later that the grower can’t sustain the volume or price needed to make a profit. Spreading sales out over multiple buyers helps mitigate this risk. Depending on the volume of product produced, farmers could create a portfolio of buyers in the wholesale, retail and direct-to-consumer markets to balance profit potential and risk. Marketing Methods. Aquaponic products are substitutes for others currently on the market and therefore compete on price. Fortunately, competition from field-grown crops is lower during cold weather, giving indoor growers a niche to exploit. Currently, aquaponic products need to be sold at a high unit price to turn a profit. However, niche markets that are willing to pay a premium
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