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This course is now closed, but we are already planning the next course in Denver, CO in October.
Be sure to sign up for our newsletter for the announcement!
In April of 2012, Green Acre Organics proudly presents the training that will reshape farming forever....
Are YOU ready to join the Farm Revolution?
Learn the methods, understand the science, discover the business, and become part of the movement that will relocalize sustainable food production. This is not an academic class taught by professors or consultants, but rather a hands-on practical class designed to teach you everything you need to know to run your own successful aquaponic farm.
The innovators at Green Acre are joined by Murray Hallam of Practical Aquaponics and Sylvia Bernstein of The Aquaponic Source for this comprehensive, hands-on approach to aquaponic farming.
"The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land."
Abraham Lincoln
Today’s health conscious consumers hunger for good, clean, locally grown food and this course teaches the entrepreneur or “farmpreneur” how to build a business to meet those needs. Australian Murray Hallam, the media growing guru of DIY Aquaponics fame has this to say about the course:
“Our approach is that Aquaponics is a balanced ECO system.... through a family farm. Ordinary people can do it. You do not need a million dollars, or highly mechanized, spinning componentry to grow your own food for yourself and your community.”
Watch this video to hear more of Murray's thoughts about aquaponic farming.
The Green Acre family farm is the model that this team will teach students to replicate. A successful Aquaponics Farm since 2010, Green Acres does this for a living every day. Recognizing the value of integrating media bed growing into raft (DWC) technology, their hybrid aquaponics design optimizes nutrient density by allowing the additional metabolization of valuable solids typically removed from DWC systems. Why remove the most valuable element in an aquaponic system when it can be utilized to produce better and more abundant growth? This growth translates into one thing, more sellable product, elevating your bottom line.
This is Real farming for Real people.
Elevating your bottom line, now that’s a concept any business person can appreciate. Enter Sylvia Bernstein. An integral part in any family farm is the business aspect. Like Murray says, ordinary people can do it, but they also need to have the tools and skills to manage the business and market their product. Sylvia, is the former VP of Marketing for AeroGrow International with a Masters in Business from the top business school in the U.S., and the author of the best selling* book, Aquaponic Gardening says:
“We provide the whole package. This is an all inclusive aquaponic course. The hands on and the how to coupled with business management essentials makes this all the training anyone will need to start their own aquaponics farm.”
(* #1 on Amazon.com's Best Selling Gardening and Horticulture books) Bonus Session!We are also offering an optional Bonus Session on Sustainable Greenhouse Design and
Saving and Adapting Seeds With Penn and Cord ParmenterFor only an additional $200 and one more day (on the back-end if you sign up for Session 1 or the front end if you are in Session 2) you can walk away with a complete set of plans and the know-how to build your very own passive solar greenhouse. You can even use recycled materials! PLUS, you will learn how to save and adapt your own seeds, reducing your costs and increasing the quality of your crops.
 What sets us apart from other aquaponics training programs? Glad you asked! - Our program is taught by people who are not only aquaponics business people and farmers, but also industry leaders. We do aquaponics for a living every day.
- Our goal is not to sell you systems or consulting services at the end of this course. Our goal is to have you walk away with all the knowledge you need to start your own successful aquaponics farm.
- Our approach is to teach you about all the growing methods currently available - DWC, media, NFT, Wicking Beds and Vertical - so you can design your farm to fit your market.
- Our process is organized and structured. Your time is valuable and you are paying your hard-earned money for this course. We guarantee that if we say that we will go over something on the schedule below...we will.
- We offer additional training in greenhouse building and seed saving!
The SyllabusWe have designed this course to be a logical progression that builds on itself over the four days. Morning sessions will be held classroom style in a very comfortable, local community center. Each morning session will start with an aquaponically focused set of lessons, followed by a set of business lessons. Then we break for lunch, which will be provided from a local, organic cafe. Afternoon sessions will be at Green Acre Organics Farm. They will be broken out into smaller groups so that all students get front row, hands on time with their instructors. Each group will rotate through all segments.
Day 1 - Morning - Classroom
 - Aquaponics - The basics
- The Nitrogen Cycle
- The Role of pH
- Water quality
- Dissolved Oxygen
- Important ratios
- Business - What you need to consider before becoming a farmer
- Understand your market!
- Types of distribution channels
- Can you actually sell your fish?
- Legal structures
- Zoning regulations
- Afternoon - Hands on at Green Acres
- Water Quality and Testing
- Seeding
- Plant handling and insect control
- Fish handling
Day 2 - Morning - Classroom
 - Aquaponics - Systems Design
- System types - DWC, media, NFT, wicking beds, vertical
- Combining system types
- Component selection
- Construction tips
- Water flow and pumps
- Business - Marketing
- What is your USP?
- Form a tribe
- Pricing theory, supply vs. demand
- Social media “advertising”
- The value of creating an email list and sending out newsletters
- Display / packaging / branding
- Afternoon - Hands on at Green Acres
- System construction
- Fish Tank connections
- DWC or raft bed construction
- Media bed construction
- Seedling system construction
Day 3 - Morning - Classroom
 - Aquaponics - Plumbing and Maintenance
- Water flow and pumps
- Plumbing it all together
- System maintenance
- Business - Your online presence
- I’m a farmer…why do I need a website?
- The importance of your URL
- Establishing your website
- SEO basics
- Afternoon - Hands on at Green Acres
- System plumbing
- Wicking, Vertical and NFT Systems
- System maintenance
Day 4 - Morning - Classroom
 - Aquaponics - The Growing Environment
- Farm Biosecurity and HAACP practices
- Green house considerations
- Heating in the winter
- Lighting
- Business - “Sell” is not a 4-letter word!
- How to sell at Farmer’s Markets
- How to establish a CSA/Buying Club
- How to approach Restaurants
- Afternoon - Hands on at Green Acres
The Instructors
Gina Cavaliero and Tonya Penick of Green Acre Organics  Green Acre Organics is one of the first commercial aquaponic farms in Florida. At Green Acre, Gina manages farm operations, their Green Acre Organics For You! produce club and also their aquaponic training program, where entrepreneurs are taught how to replicate the Green Acre model and operate the hybridized aquaponic family farm. Gina serves as the inaugural Chairman for the Aquaponics Association and is dedicated to the mission of advancing aquaponics for her fellow members and industry. Before becoming an aquaponic farmer, Gina was the co-owner and managing director of a multi-million dollar producing construction contracting firm. Gina received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida in Anthropology with a minor in Education.
Murray Hallam of Practical Aquaponics
 Murray is probably the most well known face in the world-wide aquaponics movement. He discovered aquaponics in 2006, and immediately put his fiberglass and boat-building skills to work to build and sell aquaponics systems and equipment through Practical Aquaponics in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is perhaps best know over here, however, for his outstanding aquaponics video series: Aquaponics Made Easy, Aquaponics Secrets, and the recently released DIY Aquaponics.
Sylvia Bernstein of The Aquaponic Source  Sylvia is the president of The Aquaponic Source , she runs the Aquaponic Gardening Community, and is the Vice Chairman of the Aqupaonics Association. She is also the author of " Aquaponic Gardening: A Step by Step Guide to Growing Fish and Vegetables Together" . Before aquaponics, she was the VP of Marketing and Product Development at AeroGrow International, where she was one of the founding team members. Sylvia has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Agricultural and Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis. Cost - $1295 for registration before April 7
- $1395 for registration between April 7 and April 21
- $200 discount for second family or project member (see Options above "add to cart" button)
- $200 for the Bonus Sustainable Greenhouse Design and Saving and Adapting Seeds course (click here)
- Cancellation policy:
Requests for cancellation of registration must be received in writing. Cancellations received by April 1, 2011, will be subject to a cancellation fee of 15%, which will be deducted from the refund. No refund will be made for cancellation requests received after April 1. If the event needs to be cancelled because of an unforseen cause beyond the organizers control (such as Acts of God, fire, strikes, and natural disasters, etc.) you will be refunded your registration fee less 15% to cover incurred organizational costs
Dates (note: each Session is independent. Session 2 is identical to Session 1) - Session 1 - April 21 - April 24
- Optional Bonus Section on Sustainable Greenhouse Design and Saving and Adapting Seeds - April 25
- Session 2 - April 26 - April 29
Time 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Video Because we strongly believe that the personal experience of actually being in the class and interacting with the systems, the instructors and fellow participants is critical to the eventual success of the participants, this class will not be available on video tape and video taping of these sessions is prohibited.
Location - Morning, classroom sessions will be held at the Ridge Manor Community Center
34240 Cortez Blvd., Ridge Manor, FL 33523
- Afternoon, hands-on sessions will be held at the Green Acre Organic Farm
Airport Tampa International
Hotels The following fine hotels are within 5 miles of the training facility and within 9 miles of the farm and are located at the intersection of Interstate 75 and Highway 50 or Cortez Blvd. There are restaurants and a grocery store within walking distance of the hotels. When calling to make your reservation, be sure to reference “Green Acre Aquaponics” to receive the preferred rates. All four hotels are offering discounts for attendees. - Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Brooksville I-75 30455 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34602 (352) 796-0455 ? www.hiexpress.com 3.9 miles to training center, 8.6 miles to Green Acre Organics farm
- Microtel Inn & Suites 6298 Nature Coast Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34602 (352) 796-9025 ? www.hotels.microtelinn.com 4.4 miles to training center, 7.7 miles to Green Acre Organics farm
- Hampton Inn of Brooksville 30301 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34602 (352) 796-1000 ? www.hamptoninn.com 4.2 miles to training center, 8.2 miles to Green Acre Organics farm
- Quality Inn & Suites and Conference Center 30307 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34602 (352) 796-9481 ? www.qualityinn.com 4.1 miles to training center, 8.5 miles to Green Acre Organics farm
Camping
Notes: Both the Holiday Inn and Microtel Inn were built within the last five years. The other two are probably about 15 years old, but both well maintained and recently remodeled. There are additional hotels at the same location if other accommodations are desired.
Camping Silver Lake Campground Campsites spread out under the open shade of large oak trees. Located on the northern end of Silver Lake with 23 campsites with electricity, water, and picnic tables, restrooms and showers, and Dump Station. http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/withlacoochee_croom.html#camp1
PressThese workshops are sure to fill up quickly and will be kept to a limited number of participants. Reserve your space now!
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