Facts About Aquaculture Farmers cannot Afford to Neglect

Aquaculture protects wild water plants and animals from extinction due to uncontrolled exploitation.

FREMONT, CA: Farming is physically and financially demanding for the farmers. Small and medium-sized agricultural operators are facing challenging times. It is due to workforce, water limitations, rising fertilizer, and other costs. Also problematic is inequality. Farming conglomerates have efficient supply chains and vast financial reserves. They regulate seed kinds and genetics in their ties with small farms. Many farmers say they're apprehensive about the future worry about climate change's impact on their companies, especially when oppressive heat becomes widespread. Farmers expect financial hardship, and the summer's heat hurts crops and cattle.

Movable aquaculture—growing oysters, shrimp, salmon, and more in mobile tanks using AI—may provide a way for farmers to diversify. Farmers will need to rearrange and reconfigure their farms to handle diversification. Some farmers may believe these extreme changes aren't worth the disturbance to their work, and that's a valid issue. Specific options (such as federal and state funding) have been implemented in the past and can show quick results without rethinking a business strategy.

Space: Mobile aquaculture is, well, mobile. Acreage farmers should have room for a few tanks. Expanding the operation depends on aquaculture's ROI. Farmers should decide early on if aquaculture will be a small part of their agriculture or a more significant part.

Robotics: AI is confusing and skeptical. AI monitors animal health, food consumption, and water quality in mobile aquaculture. Farmers monitor daily data and perform less effort with these systems; this technology has a learning curve. Even for two weeks, relying extensively on technology might be scary. Farmers making this shift should be open to how farming is evolving and prepared for growing pains.

Rethinking outdated ideas: Mobile aquaculture can change old views. Hog farmers realized long ago that their daily output is a good fertilizer. Manure must compost for months before being applied to crops. Mobile aquaculture can be a more efficient way for farmers to use waste, but it requires a biogas reactor. These reactors burn manure to create methane, which heats the water in portable aquaculture tanks. This saves money on natural gas or electricity used for heat, and the burned waste can be used for crops.

Microalgae: Microalgae is helpful for the environment and as livestock feed. Microalgae offer great potential as animal feed due to the inclusion of necessary macromolecules such as amino acids, PUFAs, and high-value compounds such as carotenoids and vitamins. Microalgae can reduce cattle methane and antibiotic consumption.