Posted by Lee Drever on Tue, May 01, 2012
Bell Aquaculture, the United States' largest yellow perch (perca flavescens) farm, has added soil fertilizer to its product line.
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| Bell Aquaculture have found another way to profit from their RAS-raised yellow perch. |
Advocates for aquaponics have always known that the effluent from recirculating aquaculture systems makes great plant food. Bell are now offering this nutrient-rich fertilizer to its customers.
"Fish have been used as soil fertilizer since the Native Americans first began farming our nearby land centuries ago. Our natural plant fertilizers, marketed as the Fish Rich brand, are made from the remains of the Bell Perch processed at our aquaculture facility in Indiana," says Norman McCowan, president of Bell.
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The new line, branded Fish Rich, is made from toxin and mercury-free fish, has a very mild fish odor and is good for any soil. It contains these three major nutrients:
- Nitrogen – to promote green leaves, and quicker growth response.
- Phosphorous – for root growth, disease resistance, promoting seed and fruit growth, and for blooming and flowering.
- Potassium – to increase root growth, and offer disease and drought resistance. Fish Rich and Fish Rich+ are also a good source of calcium — which plants need for cell wall development and growth.
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Fish Rich products are made on-site at Bell Aquaculture's Redkey, IN, processing facility. The fertilizer building houses a 5,000 square foot production floor and a state-of-the-art lab where the Yellow Perch "leftovers" are processed.
"Our fertilizer lab and production facility can specially produce most any fertilizer design a customer deems necessary -- any grade or level," McCowan said.
"Not only is our business a sustainable way to feed people, we are responsible with every aspect of our operation. We have become a true vertically integrated facility: nurturing our fish from egg to full-grown fish right here at the farm," McCowan explains, "And because we have our own broodstock, the genetic health of the fish can be protected before new fish are born. Plus, our fish are grown indoors in recirculating aquaculture systems, minimizing danger from outside contamination."
Fish Rich is available for purchase at: bellaquaculture.com