Like a Fish to Water

This cycle – fully self-contained, infinitely replicable – gives new meaning to the term “farm to table” and is the face of modern aquaponics. Although early versions of the practice have been used in parts of Asia and South America for millennia, it remains largely unknown to the average American consumer. A hybrid of aquaculture (the cultivation of fish in controlled tank environments) and hydroponics (the growing of plants exclusively in water), it’s been a favorite with hobbyists in recent years, but the potential for commercial application has only recently come to the fore. Its global market value of $582 million in 2025 is projected to triple in the next decade.

As traditional agriculture grapples with the challenges of climate change, fluctuating energy prices and soil degradation, growers in Georgia are turning in increasing numbers to this alternative and revolutionary farming method.

Forever Food

“You make peace on earth by feeding the hungry,” says former United Nations Ambassador and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young. Inspired years ago by visits to Uganda and South Korea, where he saw people growing plants and animals together, he began experimenting with aquaponics. In 2016, his nonprofit, the Andrew J. Young Foundation, piloted an early childhood educational aquaponics program at the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA. It still runs to this day.

“We still only have one greenhouse. And we’ve found that delicate balance of knowing exactly when to harvest and how to best meet the ongoing demand.” – Billy Dugger, owner, Billy’s Botanicals

“We had kids growing their own lettuce and taking it home,” he recalls. “It gave us hope that we could create a model for agriculture that’s scalable and profitable in the places that need it most.”

Building on the momentum of this initial project, Young and his team, including Foundation President Gaurav Kumar and longtime friend Rawson Haverty, the former senior vice president of real estate and development for Havertys Furniture, began researching the viability of building an aquaponics farm in Metro Atlanta. In 2021, they consulted with Arvind Venkat, scientific director at WaterFarmers Aquaponics in Ontario, and toured existing facilities in other parts of the United States.

After securing initial financial backing, the newly formed company, Forever Young Aquaponics, signed a long-term lease on land in Jonesboro in 2023 and will be fully operational this summer. Located just 10 minutes from the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the 70,000-square-foot facility will produce at least seven times the yield of a conventional farm of the same size, use 92% less water and leave behind a 48% smaller carbon footprint.

Young Employee: Carmel Serban was hired last year to be an aquaculture technician at Forever Young Aquaponics. Photo credit: Daemon Baizan

“Because it’s a self-contained system, our costs stay low, which means we can attract investors, price competitively and address the local need for high quality food,” says Haverty. “Not only is our output organic and pesticide-free, but it will go to market within 24 hours of harvest, something that’s virtually impossible with traditional farming.”

Forever Young has also hired recent college graduates like Carmel Serban, an aquaculture technician who began working for the company last June after getting a bachelor’s degree in marine biology and ecology from the University of Georgia.

“This is a form of agriculture ideally suited for younger generations,” Serban says, noting that most of what he does has been learned on the job. “We’re experiencing a lot of firsts here. It’s exciting to be around this cutting-edge technology and acquiring new skills as I go.”

Clayton County officials supported the project early on, sharing Forever Young’s vision for sustainable agriculture rooted in a commitment to community welfare.

“It’s going to be transformative for us,” says Board of Commissioners Chair Alieka Anderson-Henry. “This is a $15 million private investment that’s already created 18 full-time jobs and 25 internships. The potential for improved health and economic mobility makes this a game changer for our residents.”

Patrick Ejike, director of community and economic development for Clayton County, anticipates a significant impact on the area’s academic institutions as well. “It’s more than just a place growing vegetables,” he says. “It’s providing students with exposure to innovation and opportunity.”

Haverty expects operational capacity to double within four years and has set ambitious goals for the company: 20,000 pounds of leafy greens harvested weekly and sold, initially to area restaurants and food service locations, then expanding to include retail markets.

Backyard Homesteads to Regional Resources

Delicate Balance: Billy Dugger is the owner of Billy’s Botanicals. Photo credit: Contributed

Smaller-scale aquaponics facilities have been on the scene in Georgia since at least 2014, when Billy Dugger of Billy’s Botanicals says he became the first commercial aquaponics farmer recognized by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. A passionate aquarium keeper as a teen, Dugger became fascinated by the water filtering capabilities of an aquaponics setup and soon attached his small backyard garden to a 20-gallon fish tank.

“I was amazed at how quickly the plants grew and how consistent the water quality stayed,” Dugger says.

After acquiring a family property in Richmond Hill, just south of Savannah, he bought a small greenhouse and began selling greens and tilapia to local restaurants and end consumers. Dugger now offers “Billy’s Bags,” an online subscription service akin to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares.

“We still only have one greenhouse,” Dugger says, noting that as an independent producer he enjoys full control of the operation with help from his wife and two young sons. “And we’ve found that delicate balance of knowing exactly when to harvest and how to best meet the ongoing demand.”

Charity Ravn and Jeff Clark of Blackbird Farm in Buena Vista first discovered aquaponics in 2014. “We had started a backyard garden and rescued some ducks at our home in Atlanta,” Ravn recalls. “They needed a water source to dig for duckweed. It was kind of a light-bulb moment where we realized we had found a way for us to get a farm.”

Circle of Sustainability: Blackbird Farm has been operating in Buena Vista since 2020. Photo credit: Contributed

After buying their 100-acre property in Marion County and relocating there in 2020, they installed a 30-by-72-foot greenhouse along with two 500-gallon tilapia tanks. By 2025, word of mouth had grown their revenue streams to include bustling farmers markets in Atlanta and upscale restaurants such as Wahoo in Decatur, generating enough income for Ravn to leave her day job and work full time on the farm. This year they’ve prioritized the needs of their local community and have explored the possibility of taking EBT payments in exchange for CSA-type boxes delivered to low-income residents who lack transportation.

“We’re pretty reflective about our mission and our process,” says Ravn. The question for us is always, ‘Are the inputs and outputs providing for the whole circle of sustainability?’”

Weathering the Storms

Prioritizing Community: Jeff Clark and Charity Ravn are the owners of Blackbird Farm. Photo credit: Nathan LeDuc

Aquaponics outperforms traditional farming in almost every aspect, but, like all agriculture, can present significant challenges. From equipment failures to floods, an aquaponic ecosystem is as fragile as it is complex. Billy’s Botanicals almost closed shop after storm waters infiltrated grow beds in 2022 and again in 2025, leading to a $55,000 loss. Four years into its business, Blackbird Farm faced the breakdown of several production fans and a water heater catching fire.

“You can’t escape the fact that the fish, bacteria filter and plants are inextricably linked to one another,” says Brigette Brinton, director of Georgia Southern University’s Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center in Savannah. “Yet that interconnectedness is also what makes the relationships so resilient.”

Brinton, who oversees the center’s 4,100-square-foot facility, has seen some well-managed aquaponic systems run for as long as 20 years and admires the bold vision of pioneers like Forever Young.

“I look forward to learning from the ways they keep their operation stable and functional while reaching their commercial targets,” she says. “They’re certainly a role model for the industry in terms of sustainability and profitability going hand in hand.”

Whether amateur enthusiasts or commercial operators, aquaponic farmers have the potential to reset America’s relationship with how, when and where it sources its food.

“Controlled environment agriculture is the future,” says Dugger. “I truly believe aquaponics will change the world.”