Photos from AquaRanch in Flanagan, IL

When putting together a blog post about aquaponics a couple of weeks ago, we learned that AquaRanch, one of the leaders of the aquaponics movement, is located just about 100 miles south of Chicago. So on Friday, Dorothee and I drove down and met with AquaRanch owner Myles Harston.

AquaRanch is a truly innovative place. For some critics, the rub on organic farming is that it's anti-technology -- a regression to 19th-century farming techniques -- but I think aquaponics is one type of farming that disputes that claim.

Myles and his crew raise tilapia from eggs in large vats and tubs, and while the fish stay in the tanks, the water that's full of fish waste is run through large troughs, providing both water and nutrients to the many herbs and vegetables grown at AquaRanch. Once the fish reach maturity, they're filleted and sold to local fish purveyors (and I can attest that it's easily the best tilapia I've ever tasted). The fish water is so potent that Myles gave me a quart of it to take home and revive some of my houseplants.

Check out the rest of our photos on Flickr, and stay tuned for the next ON.tv video featuring AquaRanch, which we plan to post later this week.

-Mark