INDOOR SHRIMP FARMS AT SCHOOL GREENHOUSES HELP KENTUCKIANS EXPLORE SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE

ndoor shrimp production is a growing industry in the United States. Farmers are repurposing unused agricultural infrastructure and capitalizing on niche markets to sell fresh, local, healthy seafood which is otherwise difficult to acquire in landlocked states. In Kentucky, Dr. Andrew Ray, assistant professor of aquaculture in Kentucky State University's (KYSU) College of Agriculture, Communities, and the Environment, is working with producers to develop indoor aquaculture systems where shrimp can be grown year round.

KYSU's Aquaculture Production Sciences Laboratory helped two new shrimp farms get established in 2018. Rolling Blue Farm in Fayette County converted a tobacco barn into a year-round marine shrimp production facility. They renovated the barn and put up insulation and weather-resistant panelling to make an approximately 3,000-square-foot facility that houses nine above ground swimming pools to serve as tanks and 50-gallon plastic drums as filters. The farm stocked its first batch of shrimp in March 2018.

They renovated the barn and put up insulation and weather-resistant panelling to make an approximately 3,000-square-foot facility that houses nine above ground swimming pools to serve as tanks and 50-gallon plastic drums as filters. The farm stocked its first batch of shrimp in March 2018.

In Henry County, Faul Family Riverside Farm converted a hay storage shed into a shrimp production facility, which is currently capable of producing shrimp about eight months of the year.

KYSU's aquaculture program has been successful selling this shrimp for $12 to $17 per pound at farmers markets in Kentucky. Additional research is needed to ensure those prices can be upheld for regularly harvested shrimp produced in large quantities, but there is strong potential for profit with prices in that range.

there is strong potential for profit with prices in that range.

To help local K-12 students engage in and learn from sustainable aquaculture practices, Dr. Ray's Aquaculture Production Sciences Laboratory works with two schools—Versailles Montessori School in Woodford County and Providence Montessori Middle School in Fayette County—to build high tunnel greenhouses. These greenhouses include aquaculture systems, plant growing beds, solar powered fans, and in one case aquaponics, hydroponics and aeroponics production systems. These research systems are used by KYSU staff and school educators to engage students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) principles and to explore a variety of agriculture production systems.