REDKEY, Ind. and MILWAUKEE – Bell Aquaculture LLC, and Will Allen Farms LLC announced a partnership in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences to continue to provide the highly popular Yellow Perch to the Midwest. This group has a synergistic vision to provide quality, healthy food to the future of humanity using sustainable, ecologically sound methods. Will Allen Farms LLC has established a Yellow Perch fingerling farm located on site at Bell Farms™ in Albany, Indiana. The farm will be critical to maintaining supply of this high demand fish to the Midwest through markets spread across the region and country.
Will Allen recently visited Albany, Indiana to view the perch fingerlings being reared by Bell Aquaculture LLC at their state of the art facility. Bell has been raising Yellow Perch for almost a decade and has teamed up with Will Allen Farms LLC to continue the rearing and development of the midwest favorite.
Bell Farms™ currently produces Steelhead and Coho Salmon without the use of hormones or antibiotics in a vertically integrated, land-based, closed-containment RAS facility dedicated to providing a protein solution to the coming food deficit. Bell has recently completed the cycle of vertical integration with the opening of an on site aqua feed mill. This mill is the final piece in a sustainable philosophy to leverage the natural cycle of human food production. Waste from human food becomes Earth food. Earth food becomes animal food. Animal food becomes human food.
Will Allen Farms LLC, led by Will Allen, Farmer, Founder and CEO of Growing Power, Inc. is on a mission to revolutionize the food supply in the USA and give all people access to quality, healthy food. The implementation of this vision is already in progress with the construction of the Milwaukee Green Acre Project. This urban farm encompasses a city block in central Milwaukee and will leverage aquaponics technology to grow and distribute food while maintaining a nearly carbon neutral footprint.
Milwaukee Green Acre, the pilot project of Will Allen Farms LLC is rejuvenating a vacant former industrial use facility by creating a one million capacity bio-secure Yellow Perch fingerling hatchery and aquaponics farm. The hatchery is the first step in developing an integrated urban aquaculture and farm model. The ultimate goal being to assist other urban centers make best use of available land and vacant facilities to pursue sustainable urban agriculture.
"We feel that our philosophies and our farms are critical to the future of food – fish is an important part of our ecosystem and Yellow Perch are the fish of the Midwest. Bell Aquaculture is a great partner for us and we plan to work together to make urban farms a reality across the country." said Will Allen, CEO of Will Allen Farms.
"We hope this will be the beginning of a long term partnership. We are very supportive of Will Allen's vision to cultivate community efforts to produce local, healthy and sustainable food year-round." said Norman McCowan, President & CEO of Bell Aquaculture.
About Will Allen Farms
Will Allen Farms, LLC was created to react to conditions in Milwaukee and around the country. We harness the expertise of Will Allen's diverse and dynamic background coupled with his vision of a sustainable future that involves the union of both public and private sectors. WAF strives to help others in their efforts to provide equal access to healthy, high quality, safe and affordable food for all people, in all communities. We assist or partner with organizations and local communities to take the Good Food Revolution from the drawing board to reality.
About Bell Aquaculture
In 2005, Bell Aquaculture was founded in Redkey, IN as a solution to a problem – the fish in Lake Michigan were contaminated. Bell has invested $20+ million in an aquaculture research and development center and built a state-of-the-aquaculture facility located in rural Indiana, USA to provide a toxin-free supply of fish to meet the demand. Bell offers Steelhead, Coho Salmon, feed and fertilizers that are derived from fish to contribute to the life cycle of humans and fish – part of our broader philosophy to use all that is available to us to benefit to humanity and our planet.
About University of Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences
UWM School of Freshwater Sciences promotes the use of integrated fish and vegetable production technology systems that utilize green technology, water reuse, zero effluent discharge and energy conservation. UWM has invested significant time and resources into the development of urban aquaculture with the highly popular Midwest favorite Yellow Perch as a primary focus. The School has launched a new undergraduate certificate in Applied Urban Aquaculture, which offers specialized training for students who are interested in joining this emerging industry.
Source: Bell Aquaculture
