Co-founding partners hoping to reinvent aquaponics facility

Aquaponics West Virginia | Bruce Justice |

Since first becoming fully operational in late 2022 and early 2023 under Coalfield Development’s subsidiary and Mingo County Redevelopment Authority partner — Sprouting Farms — it has been known to most people in Mingo and surrounding areas as the Blue Acre Aquaponics facility situated along U.S. 52 at First Burning Creek in Kermit.

And, since that time, it’s been a place where patrons have consistently gone to buy their “greens” and other locally grown produce items year-round.

Because recirculating aquaculture fish tanks were an integral part of its construction to ensure that all the plants were supplied with the fish waste nutrients necessary for successful growing and harvesting in this type of system, it has also been a place (later operated by MCRA partner WV Food and Farm Coalition (WVFFC) in 2023 to 2024 but only as a temporary operator) people have regularly patronized for fresh tilapia.

With early-on counsel from the WVFFC and support from ARC POWER Initiative grants, MCRA officials said Blue Acre invested in value-added operations like fish composting, microgreens, hydroponic tomatoes and fertilizer production from fish waste. Community partnerships, energy efficiency upgrades, and market expansions (such as selling through Wild Ramp and regional farmers markets) followed suit.

While the facility has undergone changes in management over the past few years, it has effectively remained operational and relatively successful each of those years and looks as if its future operation could be even more successful.

At least that’s what James Birt and Bobby Noble expect and are hoping for. The two men took over the facility’s day-to-day operations in October of 2024 and have already ratcheted things up a few notches by adding several new features to ensure the facility has even greater plant production capability.

They’re also anticipating that the MCRA, which originally received an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) grant in 2016 to acquire the property and build the facility, and who still owns the building and its equipment, will be agreeable to a new name — Hillbilly Harvest Company.

One new addition to the growing system inside the aquaponics facility is what Noble described as a hydroponic and aeroponic system designed by Noble and his father that, in a failsafe manner, assures that continual water and nutrients are supplied to the plants.

“This is a three-in-one technology that sprays water and nutrients on the plant, but it also has a drip system where water and nutrients drip down on the plants just in case the sprayers get clogged,” Noble said. “Because the roots are exposed, should the sprayers quit working for some reason, the plants would die very quickly without this backup drip system.”

Another addition that will produce more plant growth within the climate-controlled greenhouse, Birt said, is a vertical wall system that has 1,600 plant ports, which he noted are currently being utilized to grow Romaine lettuce. Because there is currently a huge demand and promising market for them, however, Birt said additional vertical wall systems are being planned for strawberries.

“I see us looking pretty good doing that (growing strawberries),” he said. “I’ve got two USDA grants in right now and am waiting to hear back from those just to get more walls to expand strawberries. When we took over the Food and Farm Coalition had already secured a $70,000 USDA grant for equipment and supplies, so after satisfying the requirements of the grant, we had that for expansion. We don’t own any of that new equipment, it’s still owned by the redevelopment authority because it was on a deal before we stepped into it.”

The two men have additionally stocked and opened a grocery store, which if agreeable to the MCRA, will also fall under the Hillbilly Harvest Company logo.

The store, for which delivery of its stocked items is planned to local areas in both West Virginia and Kentucky, was built on the property a few years ago. However, due to a few logistical issues its developers incurred, Birt said it never actually opened for business.

Along with fresh vegetables and fruits, among other staples the market will also be offering buyers include locally raised pork and beef (and soon chicken), as well as raw milk, butter and eggs.

Birt and Noble said they are currently looking for new markets at which to sell their products.

“Because one of the biggest buyers has lost funding due to the USDA freeze, we’re not able to sell to Facing Hunger right now, but we’re working with other distributors to move some of the stuff we already have on hand,” Birt said.

Original Article: https://www.mingomessenger.com/news/article_00dbe6f3-26cf-4b1b-a289-8336e6ab6e38.html

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