Listen to this highly informative episode with Rebecca Nelson, co-founder and co-owner of Nelson and Pade in Montello, Wisconsin.
Their history in aquaponics goes back to the mid 1980s, beginning with commercial hydroponic production before transitioning to aquaponics in the early 90's upon learning about aquaponics from the University of Virgin Islands led by Dr. Rakocy. Rebecca partnered with John Pade and they've been building their business together for over 30 years now, with John's focus on the engineering side of things while Rebecca's expertise is in the science and biology.
In this episode, Rebecca shares her viewpoints on hydroponics vs. aquaponics as well as various aquaponic start-to-finish solutions including project planning services, the Aquaponics Master Class (people from 78 countries and all 50 U.S, states!), the Nelson and Pade Grower Program, and the Complete System Packages that meet every application from home production, research, and education up to large commercial projects. Rebecca and John are also the co-founding publishers of The Aquaponics Journal.
Rebecca additionally touches on science-based systems, controlled environment agriculture (CEA), integrated pest management (IPM), and fish diseases. Learn more about their systems as Rebecca talks about their raft system, Clear Flow Aquaponic System, ZDEP offline filtration, continuous loop raft system, clarifiers, NFTs, vertical spaces, and their partnership with University of Wisconsin Stevens Point at the 14,000 sq.ft. Innovation Center.