There is a rising tide of aquaculture in farm country, and Iowa farmers have the opportunity to increase their profitability while leading the way in seafood production.

Salmon, tilapia, shrimp and other aquatic species are finding a home in Iowa and farmers that typically raise soybeans, corn and livestock are finding a niche in new business opportunities. Jackson Kimle, the vice president of business development for Inland Sea, is one example of a young farmer and businessperson that is jumping into the world of aquaculture. Inland Sea is an Iowa business set to build a state-of-the-art salmon aquaculture system near Harlan.

“Iowa is an advantageous location for salmon production for a variety of reasons,” Kimle says. “The major input for salmon, like any animal protein, is feed and clean water. Iowa is one of the lowest cost feed ingredient locations in the world.”

The executive team at Inland Sea is hard at work acquiring financial investors to build the aquaculture facility. The current design allows for two large state-of-the-art one-acre tanks. When it is completed the $29 million Inland Sea facility will produce approximately 5.3 million pounds of salmon annually.

Read the full article on the Iowa Food and Family Project website.