JustBeGreen Farms

DEFINING THE FUTURE WITH OUR SELF-SUFFICIENT AQUAPONIC HAVEN
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JustBeGreen Industries

Shrimp

Seeds

Fabricators

Processing

Fish Foods

Foods

Water

Co-Op

Hatchery

Fertilizer

Hemp

Introducing the Joint Venture between JustBeGreen Academy and JustBeGreen Farms

All participating elements are identifying multiple Viable Solutions, short and long term, which will help to educate, grow food, feed people, create jobs and much need tax revenues.

Find a Need and Fill It -Getty

Our intents are about creating a viable option to improving / reducing the poverty levels in Eastern Tennessee, via a working combo both for profit and nonprofit perspective organizations, that will help to work to streamline educational and employment opportunities, for targeted individuals and local schools and Veterans.

Regional Stats

Poverty is often a realistic variable in permitting individuals to be successful in any realm of life. Specifically, poverty is a state of being extremely poor, of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. Families in poverty in the State of Tennessee is at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). For a family size of 2, that is $43,550 per year. In comparison, a family of 4 that is $66,250 per year. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2019, the State of Tennessee had a population of 6.8M, with 13.9% (approximately 95K people) living in or below the poverty line. A question one might ask is how society will be prepared to meet with the challenges in providing solutions.

THE BILL

Since its inception, Gary Hunt, Founder and Managing Member, JBG Academy became a reality as a   direct result of House Bill (HB) 2116, Senate Bill 2082, proposed by Representative John Mark Windle and Senator Ken Yager.  This bill signed by then Governor Bill Haslam passed on Thursday, April 19, 2018. all of the Joint Venture team players and their colleagues have worked tirelessly to bring about all of these JBG components, all working together to create educational opportunities, we all help develop  smart – tech personnel who are involved in building a diversified workforce.

Home Base

JBG has its headquarters in the small rural community of Sunbright, Tennessee in Morgan County. An additional satellite campus is located in rural Tellico Plains in Monroe County, Tennessee, while yet another component of growth and outreach is in rural Cooper Basin, in Polk County, Tennessee. It is important to note that each of these above areas of operation are structured to initiate and develop strategic work to develop training and education in rural America for the betterment of economic well-being in which people live and work. For example, the Cooper Basin site in Polk County, Tennessee will work to develop the Con Thien Veterans Memorial (derived from the Vietnam War in 1967) for assisting our military veterans with being properly educated and encouraged back into the civilian workforce. The academy concept seeks to develop an education program that promotes a chain reaction that uses a re-culturing of economics and having a balance of developing skill sets in people to meet the needs of today’s Veterans, and ultimately today’s regional workforce.

Creating the Gathering Place…

JBG is a for profit organization that works to streamline educational and employment opportunities for targeted individuals. JBG will do something that no one else is doing with its framework design and structure. Essentially, JBG is in two components. First, JBG Farms will train personnel to work in areas of an aquaponics system and fish production. Much of this component of work will take place at the Tellico Plains site. The overall intent of this component of the organization is to prepare individuals to work to help produce various foods to help meet the demand needs of the state, country, and invariably the world. Second and most essential, JBG Academy. The academy is the cornerstone of the JBG shared vision of what can be and will be..

Creating Economic Hope

The academy focuses on providing educational benefits for a variety of individuals, most exclusively, military veterans and students in secondary settings. The JBG Academy is the platform of focus serving today’s students and military veterans streamlining processes for economic hope for both the present and future. Approximately 89% of students’ move away from rural school system settings to obtain gainful employment and educational opportunities. A major part of this component is examining opportunities to begin work in post – secondary settings to make the initiative more marketable and reachable for individuals who need access to these resources.

Defining our Starting Places

One might be compelled to ask about the competition of other initiatives present in society. Simply stated, there is not any competition at this time. No one else out there is doing what we are doing and doing it the way we are. With that said, JBG is working to develop foundational structures that will prove the test of time and ultimately have the potential to go international in the future.

JBG is a dynamic initiative that has both the present and future focus of providing individuals with skill sets for a diverse workforce. Time will tell of the full magnitude of this initiative as changes in education and training bring about desired economic improvements, especially in rural communities.

Dr. Joseph A. Miller, Co-Founder, Managing Partner of JustBeGreen Academy, LLC

Our intents are about creating a viable option to improving / reducing the poverty levels in Eastern Tennessee, via a working combo both for profit and nonprofit perspective organizations, that will help to work to streamline educational and employment opportunities, for targeted individuals and local schools and Veterans.

Potential Settings for Aquaponics Farming

This collection represents an array of diverse locations, meticulously selected for their suitability for the development and thriving of aquaponic farming systems.

Chosen for their compatibility with aquaponics principles, accessibility, and potential for sustainable growth, these sites offer a glimpse into the promising future of sustainable farming.

Monroe County

Monroe County's rich soils and proximity to Knoxville make it a prime, accessible spot for a thriving aquaponics farm

Polk County

Polk County's pristine rivers and lush landscapes hold the promise for successful and sustainable aquaponics farming

Morgan County

Situated in the Cumberland Plateau, Morgan County's unique topography and seclusion offer an intriguing environment for aquaponics farming.

The JustBeGreen Farm's Aquaponics Park

Within the JustBeGreen Villages America land plan, the proposed “JBG Aquaponics Park” will build 3.2 million sqft. of greenhouses and to include four – 100,000 sqft. of fish grow houses, which will produce approximately 4 million pounds annually of barramundi fish. The amount of fish produced will provide enough natural fertilizer to grow in excess of 60 million pounds plus of organic vegetables in our greenhouses.

The aquaponic and educational footprints within our land will become the economic drivers which will crystallize the creation of at least 2000 plus jobs and most importantly, it will help change the much-needed economic hope needed for future generations of the “Kids of the Cumberland Plateau”.

 

AQUAPONICS

Sustainable Food for the Future

Aquaponics is a system where you can sustainably raise fish and vegetables in almost any environment. 

The fish component of this operation is completed indoors, and the fish are raised in tanks with a recirculating water system. 

The water goes from the fish tank into a filtration system that removes the solids and converts the harmful ammonia from the fish to nitrate that can be used as plant fertilizer.

Part of the water is returned to the fish while the rest is sent to a nearby greenhouse.

The greenhouses use a hydroponic system to raise vegetables or other plants. In a hydroponic system the plant roots are suspended in a floating mat or other media rather than soil. The plants use the nitrates produced by the fish as fertilizer. This soil-less system allows greater control over what goes or doesn’t go into the plants. Environmental toxins that are often found in soil can be eliminated through this process which provides a “cleaner” product. This system also provides capability of year-round production. 

Aquaponics systems can be set up in virtually any location. One example of this is to set up in an unused warehouse space in a city. This provides a local source for protein and produce therefore having  many green advantages.

Highlighting the Top 3 Perks of Aquaponics

1

Reduced Carbon Emissions

By situating our operations locally, we eliminate the need for long-distance transport. Most transportation methods rely heavily on hydrocarbon fuels such as diesel or gasoline, leading to substantial carbon emissions. With shorter transportation distances, we substantially lower our carbon footprint. This approach helps alleviate the pressure on our farmland and water supplies, which are currently stretched thin.

    2

    Optimized Water Use

    In numerous agricultural regions, water is often sourced from systems like the Colorado River. Using this water for open irrigation, particularly in near-desert areas, is remarkably inefficient, causing considerable water wastage due to evaporation. Additionally, nutrient depletion and topsoil loss have reached alarming levels in many farming areas, forcing a reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

        3

        Independence from Chemical Fertilizers

        Our third major advantage lies in our non-reliance on chemical fertilizers. In an Aquaponics system, fish waste provides the necessary nitrates that act as plant fertilizer. This dual-purpose process not only fertilizes the plants but also purifies the water of excess nitrates. Many cases of nitrate pollution in surface and groundwater have been linked to excessive use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture, a problem that Aquaponics neatly sidesteps.

            Cultivating Diversity: Raising Various Species in Aquaponics

            The Fish: Barramundi

            Aquaponics systems can raise virtually any species of fish. At JustBeGreen Farms our favored species is the Barramundi. This species is native to Australia and south East Asia. It has a texture and flavor similar to grouper and is popular with chefs worldwide.

            The Barramundi is a large fast-growing fish that does well in confined areas. This makes them ideal for Aquaponics production. The high-quality meat of the Barramundi is also very nutritious, containing an omega 3 fatty acid level higher than most salmon species. These fish are able to produce this high-quality meat on a much lower quality diet than other species. This allows us more options in our feed production, which in turn allows us a greater ability to follow the principles of Green Sustainability that JustBeGreen Farms is founded on.

            This has been a quick overview of the exciting and expanding field of Aquaponics. At JustBe Green Farms our driving force is environmentally sound, sustainable agriculture to provide food for generations to come while protecting our environment. 

            It is the intent for the JBG Farms facility to capitalize on this emerging trend of producing healthy food products. Within the proposed facility, which will be located within the land plan of JustBeGreen Villages America, to be built out over a 7-year period.

            Newsroom

            Inspiring Sustainable Solutions:  News and Updates

            Explore the latest news and updates on our website, where we strive to develop and implement logical and rational environmental initiatives. Stay informed about innovative solutions, inspiring stories, and actionable steps towards a greener future.