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Ecological Food Production

Our mission: To develop, enhance and promote ecologically and economically sustainable systems by converting underutilized biological resources to high quality foods and other value-added products. We implement our mission through comprehensive research, outreach and consulting programs.

Urban Agriculture Systems:
Much of our work is centered on making urban areas more sustainable. By producing food within short distances of population centers, we take advantage of the abundant waste resources and greatly minimize energy and transportation inputs.

Burlington Food Works: The Agricultural Eco-Park in Burlington's Intervale:
This unique project will utilize waste heat from the local wood-fired power plant to fuel a series of year-round greenhouses where byproducts from local food manufactures and farms are converted to fish, shrimp, mushrooms, salad greens, and composts. Nutrients in this system are fully utilized as waste products from one process are used to fuel others.

Visit the Intervale Foundation.

Intervale EcoPark diagram - Click for larger version

Click for large version

Aquaculture Research and Development:
Our aquaculture program is centered on systems that are self-sustaining and do not rely on feeds containing ocean harvested fishmeal. The goal is to create efficient recirculating systems that produce high quality fish, shrimp and hydroponic produce without the need for energy intensive waste treatment.

Mycology and Mushroom Research and Development:
Our mycology and mushroom program is focused on the establishment of a comprehensive native culture library as well as the cultivation of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms.

The native culture library is used to match valuable species to available substrates, as a source of native biological material to remediate damaged ecosystems and to investigate unknown ecological and medicinal properties.

Cultivation of mushrooms in the ecological food production system is accomplished using waste organic materials directly or in the form of compost. Neighboring industries, such as breweries, and farms supply suitable materials for mushroom growth.

Composting and Produce Production:
The worm composting system is the hub of the ecological food production machine. Raw materials such as animal bedding from livestock operations, spent grain from breweries, solids from our aquaculture system and spent mushroom substrate are fed to red worms. The enriched compost that results is used for growing winter salad greens or as a value-added soil amendment. Portions of the expanding populations of worms are fed to the fish in the aquaculture system.

Winter greens

Consulting Services:
Our team can provide a wide range of consulting services for greenhouse based and land based systems. Our range of expertise includes:

Aquaculture and Aquaponic systems
Mushroom Production
Composting
Intensive Rotational Grazing
Custom Grazing
Pastured Poultry
Vegetable Production
Small fruits
Eco-Forestry
Wastewater Systems

Call (802) 660-8094 for more information
Email: info@farmecology.org
www.farmecology.org