farms target institutional customers as a steady source of demand. However, this segment tends to be
particularly price sensitive, and margins earned may be lower than for produce sold to other food
service providers.” (IBISWorld, n.d.) This mirrors what Wellspring Greenhouse Cooperative, a traditional
greenhouse cooperative based out of Western Massachusetts, reported in their market research. They
chose to have 1/3 of their sales go to institutional customers because, despite having lower prices, they
had a consistent/stable demand. The main financial considerations for running a hydroponics business
are the initial capital investment in equipment, as well as the ongoing costs of fertilizer and seeds. A
major boon to this industry is bad weather, as more traditional field grown farms suffer, creating a void
for hydroponics to fill. (IBISWorld, n.d.).
2.2.4.2 The Aquaculture Industry
Aquaculture is the practice of growing fish in containment, rather than catching fish in the wild. The
aquaculture industry in the United States is also growing, with an annual growth rate averaging 2.1%
from 2009-14, and a projected growth of 1.4% for 2014-19. The most common product for aquaculture
is far and beyond Catfish, with 42.3% of product produced. Other food fish, including all of the fish we
are considering, represent 19.2% of the product. 7.3% of the market was trout, 3.8% salmon, and other
fish such as bass, tilapia, are within the other 8.1%. (IBISWorld, n.d.)
Aquaculture producers mainly sell to fish and seafood processors, followed by wholesale distributors
(IBISWorld, n.d.). Selling direct to retailers, direct to consumer, and to government/institutional holds
less than 10% of the market. To be profitable fish farmers need to compete against Canadian and
Chilean low prices. Fish food is the most substantial ongoing cost for operators, costing an estimated
64.8% of gross revenue. Wages cost 14.9% of revenue, as the field labor intensive due to constant
feeding and monitoring.
2.2.5 The Greenhouse Initiative
An idea was proposed to build a greenhouse in Worcester using aquaponics to efficiently grow food in
an urban environment.
2.2.5.1 Partners
2.2.5.1.1 The Worcester Roots Project
Worcester Roots, the main sponsor of our project, is a non-profit organization seeking “to create
opportunities for economic, social and environmental justice” (Worcester Roots, n.d.). In this effort,
they lead local projects to help clean their local areas, raise awareness for issues such as toxic soil and a
just economy. Worcester Roots supports the worker cooperative style of economy and incubates a
number of cooperative businesses (Worcester Roots, n.d.).
The goals of the greenhouse project is to design and construct a greenhouse and aquaponic growing
facility and start a pilot cooperative business running out of the greenhouse. With the project they seek
to empower local residents, provide a healthy, local food source for Worcester residents, and educate
members and local youth about greenhouse growing, aquaponics, and the cooperative business style.
The organization has expressed its wish to have students from schools come in and learn about co-ops
as well as how a greenhouse works; these students would then take back that knowledge to their
schools and homes, spreading interest and knowledge. If the interest is widespread and the 3 year pilot
is successful, the organization has articulated that scaling up the greenhouse will be very high on their
priority list. (Worcester Roots, n.d.)