About Us
About
Barfield Farm Fresh
Our Mission
Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish, Inc is a start-up grower and distributor of fresh fish products and high-value fresh produce, to restaurants, hotels, and individual consumers. We are located in Burlington, ND and will begin by selling to the surrounding community of Minot ND and the tri county area.
Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish, Inc will operate an Aquaponics system, which is the process of growing fish and plants in one integrated system. Both the fish and plants work together in providing essential nutrition for an efficient recirculating system. In no way does the system harm the environment.
Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish, Inc will strive to be a leading provider of fresh fish and organic vegetables farmed and cultured from the very eco-friendly, self-sustaining system Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish, Inc will raise awareness in the community, and ensure our products are readily accessible to consumers. People of all generations that eat fish and healthy veggies will find an added benefit to purchasing and eating organically grown Tilapia from our controlled and balanced farming system. Our fresh Tilapia will provide a high level of quality. Our organically grown cukes, peppers, microgreens, lettuces, and tomatoes will be fresh, crisp, chemical-free, all adding to the longevity of the produce.
Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish, Inc will penetrate the Minot region by implementing a very structured and focused marketing plan to increase the demand for our product line: Tilapia and a variety of organic vegetables. The target market niche is thought to be an innovative, environmentally friendly health conscience consumer that cares deeply about nutrition and value. Growth potential is unlimited, as fish and vegetables are essential to balanced diet.
Our History
As pressure mounts on the global food production in the face of climate change, decrease in the global fresh water supply, decreasing food supply due to agriculture land shortages, population growth and the resulting increase in food demand, the heavy dependency on petroleum to grow, process and transport food; there is a much-needed urgency in finding alternatives that could address these issues facing the global food production system. Aquaponics, is an alternative that has the potential to produce organic food within or in the vicinity of large urban areas with minimal land and water use than traditional agriculture while reducing the dependency on cheap fossil fuel to process and transport food from great distances. Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish is founded on the vision of its proprietor who seeks to promote a sustainable method of agriculture that enables urban farming to produce organic food.
The idea came when it was noticed that many single-family homes now opt to grow their own fruits and vegetables in their backyards. There is a large shift in consumer behavior that is demanding organic, locally grown produce as part of a movement toward a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. The committed among these consumers are slowly turning to backyard gardening to satisfy their desire for healthy food. In the past decade, several forms of urban farming have evolved; however, it still remains a domain of hobby gardeners done mostly for household consumption. Gardeners are restricted to summer months for food production as summer gardens start withering at the approach of fall. Barfield Fresh Organic Produce and Fish: model is designed to achieve this goal by establishing a fully operational aquaponics commercial farm in very close vicinity of an urban area.
Why Aquaponics
Aquaponics is the most efficient and resilient way to grow a wide variety of produce and fish together in a single system. Aquaponic farming is quickly becoming a critical part of the local food production equation. We simply have to grow more food with less water and grow the food closer to the consumer if we want to create a more sustainable future. We need more local farmers and gardeners producing the healthiest food possible for our families and communities.
Reduce
food transportation miles by growing locally
Grow
highly nutritious fruits and vegetables year round
Preserve
our wild fish populations by raising healthy fish in a controlled farm
Conserve
water. Aquaponics uses a tenth of the water compared to soil-based agriculture
Replenish
soils with aquaponic water
Scale
from home production to community and commercial scale farms
Feed
people and communities who lack access to healthy affordable food
Going Forward
To give a brief history, and reasoning for the technology Barfield Organic Produce and Fish, Inc intends to use, we must start at the beginning. Today’s agriculture is much different than that practiced by our grandfathers. Threatened by problems related to water shortages, topsoil loss, reliance on fossil fuel inputs, and a changing climate, the productivity and reliability of our food systems and ecosystems are at stake. Alternatives are needed which are more efficient in use of resources, sustainable, resilient, and better mesh with our communities. Aquaponics is an agricultural technique poised to meet our current and future needs for locally raised, healthy and sustainable produce.
Aquaponics is both old and new. It is a system of producing fish and vegetables that combines the well-developed technologies of both aquaculture and hydroponics. It conserves water, increases efficiency (due to dual use of facilities and employees), while minimizing energy use and other costs. Aquaponics gives the producer flexibility to meet trends, and to maximize production and profit.
Aquaponics is not widely used yet, because aquaculture producers think fish, and imagine problems with plants. Hydroponics producers think vegetables and imagine problems with fish. This is if they think about it at all. The truth is that when combined, each system nicely solves some of the problems inherent in the other system, without the expensive technologically solutions that those operations utilize now.
Aquaponics combines the best features of hydroponics and aquaculture while reducing or eliminating their drawbacks. Both the aquaculture tanks and the hydroponics troughs use the same pump, the same water, the same electricity, the same biological filters, the same aeration, the same piping system, and the same physical land area. One farm office covers both businesses, as does one cold storage, one supplies and equipment storage, one set of books and bookkeeping, one tax return, and one set of employees. Depending on how you look at it, you either have free nutrients, filtration, water, facilities, and electricity for the hydroponic operation, or free filtration, water, facilities, and electricity for the fish. Although this cost sharing is advantageous, the big difference in an aquaponics operation is that there are two product lines creating profit for the bottom line instead of just one.
Thank You to Our Partners
