Tag Archives: Greenhouse

Forever Young Aquaponics Opens State-of-the-Art Facility in Jonesboro, Georgia

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Jonesboro, GA |

A decade’s worth of planning, researching, and building finally came to fruition as Forever Young Aquaponics celebrated the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art facility in Jonesboro. Inside, old-school production principles meet new-school technology, combining fish farming and plant cultivation in a closed-loop system designed to maximize every inch of land and every drop of water available.

“The fish produce nutrient-rich water for the plants to grow in. And since you plant everything in water, you plant it very densely — so you get ten times more produce in much less time, using only ten percent of the water it would take in soil-based agriculture,” said Gaurav Kumar, President of the Andrew J. Young Foundation.

That efficiency extends to every part of the system. According to Arvind Venkat, CEO and Managing Partner of Forever Young Aquaponics, the closed-loop design means virtually nothing goes to waste.

“The crops are in water all the time, and because they’re in water all the time, they consume water and nutrients as needed. There’s no wastage, nothing runs off into the environment. What the plants require, they consume. What is not required just continues to recirculate in the system,” Venkat said.

A BLUEPRINT FOR THE WORLD

The location of the new facility wasn’t chosen by accident. Situated just fifteen minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Andrew J. Young Foundation hopes the Jonesboro operation will serve as a model for countries around the globe looking to expand access to fresh, sustainable produce.

“People from all over the world can come here, visit the farm, take the idea behind it with them — and we’ll provide our operational intelligence and intellectual expertise that we’ve learned over the last two or three years building this,” Kumar said. “We want to empower other countries around the world to become food sovereign.”

For Venkat, two principles have driven the design from the start: water conservation and low energy consumption — both critical for countries where those resources aren’t guaranteed.

“In any country that’s not as blessed as the US, where you have a strong energy grid and strong water infrastructure, you often run into situations where water is scarce and energy is scarce as well,” Venkat said. “The energy footprint of this greenhouse is less than one refrigerator — that’s as much as one acre of greenhouse consumes. If we can take that to countries that are energy and water deficient, we can do farming that is environmentally responsible and responsible for human health as well.”

A SUPPLEMENT, NOT A REPLACEMENT

While aquaponics isn’t designed to replace traditional farming, the Forever Young team is clear about the role it can play — particularly in major urban centers like Atlanta, which are often classified as food deserts.

“Aquaponics doesn’t compete with the traditional farmer. The traditional farmer still focuses on the staples — corn, the heavy consumption crops that are required. You can’t do that in aquaponics, not today at least,” Venkat said. “What we focus on is short shelf-life crops. And most of these crops are consumed by urban cities — they’re not actually consumed in the larger part of the rural country.”

For Jonesboro and the broader Atlanta metro, the opening of Forever Young Aquaponics represents more than a new farm. It’s a proof of concept — one its founders hope will ripple far beyond Georgia’s borders.

By: Damon Jones

Warner Robins Middle School Brings Hydroponic Tower Garden Into the Ag Classroom

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Warner Robins, GA |

Inside James Judson’s agriculture classroom at Feagin Mill Middle School, the sound of water trickling through a hydroponic tower garden is now a familiar backdrop. Thanks to a Bright Ideas Grant from Flint Energies, Judson — an ag teacher and FFA advisor — was able to bring the technology into his classroom and give students in Warner Robins a hands-on look at the future of agriculture.

“It funded the purchase of the tower garden and the first materials to get it started — the rockwool, nutrients, fertilizer,” Judson said. “It’s not difficult at all. It’s really easier than traditional gardens because it’s using more technology.”

BRINGING AGRICULTURE TO WHERE STUDENTS ARE

For Judson, the tower garden is more than a classroom tool — it’s a bridge. In a city like Warner Robins, where many students live in apartments and subdivisions, traditional row crop agriculture can feel distant. Hydroponics offers a different entry point.

“Agriculture is a little different here than in more rural Georgia, where agronomy and row crops may not relate as much to these students. But they can see technology being used, and gardens — that’s something they can relate to,” Judson said. “Agriculture is Georgia’s biggest industry, and one in seven Georgians work in agriculture. It’s important for all of our young students to realize that in each class I teach, about four of them will end up working in agriculture someday.”

A FIELD TRIP THAT CHANGED PERSPECTIVES

To take the learning even further, Judson’s class toured a large commercial hydroponic facility in Houston County — and for eighth grader Kinley Harter, the visit left a lasting impression.

“Seeing the plants, the machinery, the outside, the process, the packaging — it was really impactful because it got me thinking, like, I could do this someday,” Harter said.

HOW THE TOWER WORKS

Back in the classroom, the hydroponic tower runs almost entirely on its own. A reservoir at the base pumps water to the top, where it trickles down over the roots before cycling back and repeating — all on an automated timer, including the grow lights.

“It’ll cut on every few minutes, supply water to the roots, then sit and turn on again,” Judson explained. “The lights are all on a timer so we can adjust how much sunlight they get. It’s just all automated.”

The process starts small — seeds placed in rockwool cubes and covered with vermiculite — before moving into the tower after about six days. From there, it takes roughly a month for lettuce to reach harvest size. For Harter, watching that growth cycle from start to finish is one of the best parts of the class.

“You walk in and you see the growth of it — it grows on its own,” she said.

A FULL AG PROGRAM IN THE MAKING

The tower garden is just one part of a broader agricultural education program at Feagin Mill. The school also maintains a greenhouse and raised garden beds, with students starting plants from seed as early as sixth grade. Each year, they hold a plant sale to showcase everything they’ve learned.

“You have to really learn the balance. Sometimes when you grow plants you can tell — the leaves are getting brown, so there’s too much sunlight, or it’s not growing because there’s too much water,” Harter said.

Before taking Judson’s class, Harter says her gardening experience didn’t go much beyond holding the watering can for her mom. Now, she’s got a message for students who might be hesitant to try something new.

“Don’t be afraid to do something you’ve never done before just because you don’t have the experience. Go in and learn — go in and say, ‘I can do this.’ If you have the mindset, you have the mobility, you have everything. You can do it.”

By: Jennifer Parson

Unlocking Georgia’s Agritourism Revolution

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Peachtree City, GA |

With the goal of supporting local farms and spreading the story of agriculture, the GFB Certified Farm Markets program has seen their number of participating farms skyrocket over the past few years, providing a snapshot of the diversity of operations that can be found here in the state.

“This year, we have a hundred farms across the state of Georgia that invite you to come and visit them to see what they do. No two are alike. So, we have everything from farms like Alo Farms, who is hydroponic, to row crops, to hog farms, to farms that do both vegetables and beautiful flowers,” says Kelly Henry, GFB Certified Farm Market Coordinator.

To help guide you through all of these different choices is the GFB Farm Passport, which not only provides a detailed description of the more than one hundred operations, but also rewards for paying them a visit.

“You take your farm passport with you and just like if you’re visiting another country, you get stamps. Your stamps earn you prizes at the end of the year. Five is a T-shirt. Ten is Ag swag. Twenty is a farm to table dinner and tour, our signature event of the year. And then, thirty is goodies from the farm,” says Henry.

It’s not just the visitors that benefit from this program, but also the farms that are involved like Alo Farms, a unique operation in Peachtree City.

“We joined a few years ago and it’s just been an amazing partnership. All the participants in the stamp program are just excited to be here. They have great questions. We love being able to share and talk with them about the farm. So, it brings a lot of enthusiastic customers who appreciate agriculture and what it takes to run and operate a farm. It’s brought us a lot of local people who didn’t know we were here,” says Alec Brown – GM of Alo Farms. “So, Alo Farms is a family owned and operated company. My dad, Jefferson, he’s an architect, and he started our farm about 15 years ago on the design and innovation side as a means to address food insecurity on a large scale and specifically in urban environments. So, our commercial farm right now is less than 20 thousand square feet. We’ll out produce about 75-125 acres worth in soil of the same types of crops.”

This is just one of the many agritourism destinations that will be featured in the new, 2024 Farm Passport when it’s released in less than a month.

“Kickoff is exciting every year, March 16th and will run all the way through the year. So, we even get those Christmas tree farms in at the end of the year. So, if you haven’t gotten your passport yet, you can start it at any of the participating farms found at gfb.ag/passport. You can also pick one up at any of your local county Farm Bureau offices,” says Henry.

By: Damon Jones