Written Interview with Joe Pate
Hello aquaponics community! Today we thrilled to hear from Joe Pate who is an Aquaponic Research and Engineering specialist for The Aquaponic Source. We have been very excited from our past interviews, to hear from people with many different backgrounds, as to why they are involved in aquaponics. Today, Joe has added yet another perspective to our collection of data. He is not only teaching aquaponics and helping with content for an aquaponic business, but he is also someone who has learned his craft through studying the topic throughout his educational background.
Let’s take a look at the journey and knowledge that Joe has acquired throughout the years, leading him to his job at The Aquaponic Source.
Where did the passion for aquaponics stem from?
“I became interested in using fish to grow algae for biofuel, nutritional supplements, fertilizers, etc. When I was in high school; at the time I did not know about aquaculture or aquaponics though my first college Berea College had a small program which I was introduced to. During my freshman year I became increasingly aware of how our agricultural system was negatively impacting our water supply, along with concerns for food security tied to the ever growing population and shifts in climate. I had a shift in perspective and decided that I cared more about water conservation and feeding people than producing algae. Aquaponics to date is one of the most sustainable and efficient food production systems regarding and for that reason I have dedicated the last 6 years of my life learning and researching ways to increase the sustainability of aquaponics and its accessibility to people around the world.”
This was very interesting for us to hear. Joe has truly evolved to finding his passion for the field of aquaponics, driving his career. Aquaponics is still a field of study that, by many, is not very well known. By creating this blog and content for our project, we hope to add to the growing community of aquaponics so that even more people can help the industry grow. Joe's story is truly inspiring to us.
Now to look a little deeper into Joe's background.
Joe graduated from Kentucky State University (KYSU) with a B.S. in Agriculture, Food and Environment along with a second certificate degree in Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences. During his undergraduate studies he also worked as a research assistant for three and a half years, which focused on research involving aquaponic systems. He is currently in the process of finishing his Masters at KYSU while working at The Aquaponic Source. Within his Masters degree, he is in the process of creating a design manual for small and medium scale aquaponic systems. This was very interesting to us, seeing as for our project we are crating a design manual as well. Joe has been working at The Aquaponic Source for two years and has been involved with teaching classes, designing, manufacturing and installing systems along with helping create online content.
Once hearing about Joe as a person and his career in aquaponics, we then wanted to hear his thoughts on challenges that he may see arise for someone, when they are building their own system. We have heard some difficulties from other interviews and this stemmed us to ask Joe as well. Joe responded with a few different notes on the topic.
Lack of open source information in terms of systems that have been successful and well engineered. (Joe did acknowledge that this is understandable due to the fact that commercial farmers may not want to show their successful systems with the public.)
In developing countries: difficulties in finding proper materials
In developed countries: commercial systems can run into issues when it comes to food safety regulations because they often increase the cost of equipment.
We then asked Joe if he saw any potential solutions to these problems. He responded with the following points.
An increase in communication between private industry and academia
Allocate more resources for aquaponic extension agents
Increase research in improving aquaponic technologies
Increasing research into other integrated agricultural systems (combining pond culture with soil production in fields for more developing countries)
Creating open access material for commercial and home producers.
With Joe’s extensive background and experience in aquaponics he had a few tips and tricks to share with us and we wanted to bring them to you all as well.
Specifically oriented to our project, we wanted to see if he had any recommendations for building a system with limited or potentially recycled resources. He responded with:
“Systems built using recycled food-grade IBC totes or 55- gallon plastic barrels can be a great cheap simple way to get started and available most places. There are some free designs of these systems on the web. They help a lot though they are incomplete (in my opinion). Don't skimp on the water or air pumps.”
This was very interesting for us to hear because this is similar advice to what we have received through other interviews and when working in collaboration with our sponsors. It seems as though purchasing pumps is a very smart investment to make, even if one does have constraints. It causes for the systems to be more efficient and reliable as a whole. Joe’s comment on using IBC totes is also a recommendation that we have received through our other interviews. Not only do they seem to be a cost effective option, but they are also a material that meets the needs of a self constructed system.
Joe’s Five Tips
(beginner aquaponics hobbyist)
Start small, keep it simple and get your hands wet
Your going to lose fish and plants it's okay
Keep your mind open. Forums can be a great way to share and learn information but find academic based research and take a class(es); don't try to recreate the wheel.
Stick with a simple fish like koi, tilapia, and catfish (try to choose one based on your environment),
Be observant, maintain your water quality, and watch your plants and fish; they will tell you if something is up
These are some wonderful tips that we hope help you all!
Both with our project and with the current state of the world, many of us are faced with similar situations when it comes to the online community. We are going online to learn, find information and explore our interests. We thought this would be a great point to pick Joe's brain about. He is someone who works for a company that has a number of different online learning tools that truly sets their business apart from others in the aquaponic community. And so, we asked Joe, “When using an online platform to teach the public about aquaponics, what are the most effective ways of keeping people interested and teaching them the material.” Joe responded with:
“Everyone is different and unfortunately not everyone will be able to learn online but for those that are able to, videos that show what's being discussed vs. a power point tends to keep people more engaged (purely observational and not scientifically backed). I also tend to be a fan of the short interactive explainer videos that break down the information in a simple and easy to understand format.”
This was amazing for us to hear! For our project, not only are we producing informative content to be displayed online, but we are also making short animated videos explaining the information. We had hoped that this will allow for our project to reach a broader audience and hearing from Joe's perspective, we think that it really has the potential to do just that!
We would like to talk a moment to thank Joe for taking the time to speak with us and expanding the information that we have collected throughout this project.
If you are curious about The Aquaponic Source, where Joe works, we highly recommend you go and look at their website: https://www.theaquaponicsource.com/!
What is The Aquaponic Source? Their website says:
“We are farmers, educators, and designers who have a passion for growing healthy food, conserving resources, and improving our planet for future generations. Our team is dedicated to providing high quality aquaponic systems, supplies, and training programs for residential, school, community, government, non-profit, and international applications.”
They are a wonderful platform that not only provides tools for learning about aquaponics, but it also gives first hand advice of how to be successful with building your own system. They have materials for purchase, online classes, bountiful information and much, much more. We highly recommend going over and taking a look at all they have to offer!
Thank you again Joe! We hope you have all enjoyed reading about this interview and hopefully learned a little more about aquaponics. Take a moment during this quarantine down time to pick up a new hobby (such as aquaponics!) and maybe even take an online class about making your own system (@ The Aquaponic Source)!!!
Sources
All interview information from Joe Pate
Picture and information on The Aquaponic Source found at: https://www.theaquaponicsource.com/