{"id":4305,"date":"2018-02-20T13:39:48","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T19:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/for-wisconsin\/?post_type=campus_story&p=4305"},"modified":"2018-02-20T13:39:48","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T19:39:48","slug":"uw-la-crosse-collaborates-with-startup-company-at-the-frontiers-of-sustainable-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-la-crosse-collaborates-with-startup-company-at-the-frontiers-of-sustainable-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-La Crosse collaborates with startup company at the frontiers of sustainable agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
About a dozen UW-La Crosse (UWL) faculty toured Superior Fresh last summer and some have already started working on projects for the cutting-edge company. The startup in Northfield, Wisconsin, sits on a 720-acre native restoration property. Photo courtesy of Superior Fresh.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UWL students are getting a hand on the future of food growing.<\/p>\n

In a biology lab, students spent fall semester nurturing lettuce leaves from seedlings in dishes of water.\u00a0Biology<\/a>\u00a0faculty Anita Baines and Tom Volk led the class in figuring out whether an additive in the growing process was worthwhile. Their research would help answer questions for a startup company exploring the frontiers of food growing \u2014 without soil or consistent sunlight \u2014 in a facility about 70 miles to the north.<\/p>\n

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\"Photo<\/a>
Associate Professor of Biology Anita Baines and Biology Professor Tom Volk had their class conduct a study to determine if an additive \u2014 a particular mix of microbes that improves plant growth \u2014 would be worth the investment for Superior Fresh. Their work was conducted fall semester.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Superior Fresh<\/a>\u00a0is an aquaponics facility just outside of Northfield, Wisconsin, that officially opened in August 2017. The business is the largest of its kind in the world; it sits on 720 acres and employs a cutting-edge method of fish farming and water-based gardening. Waste from Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout supplies nutrients for lettuce, which is grown hydroponically. The result is a quality product for sale, virtually zero waste \u2014 and plenty of food for thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur owners want to prove that this sustainable model is viable and show the world we can get local, healthy, sustainable and organic food to everyone,\u201d says Kurt Wagaman, general manager of Superior Fresh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wagaman says it\u2019s only natural that Superior Fresh would want to partner with universities nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could send samples off to other labs, but we enjoy being able to be part of the learning process,\u201d he says. \u201cAll it takes is one student who says, \u2018I\u2019m going to do this and become the next innovator in something huge.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Superior Fresh has already hired one such student, UWL alumna, Kelsey Kotecki, now a lab technician in the company\u2019s fish house. And Superior Fresh has also connected with more than a dozen UWL faculty members so far in subject areas from microbiology to entomology to business.<\/p>\n

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\"Students<\/p>\n

2017 Science Career Forum. This year\u2019s forum was Friday, Feb. 2, in the UWL Student Union. During the forum, Scott Cooper, UWL biology professor and director of Undergraduate Research, discussed the many ways faculty can get students involved in projects with off-campus partners. \u201cI think we have a lot more untapped potential for this,\u201d says Cooper. \u201cOnce we started talking to Superior Fresh, all kinds of options for research emerged.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Starting fresh<\/h3>\n

UWL\u2019s collaborations with Superior Fresh started when Scott Cooper, UWL biology professor and director of Undergraduate Research, connected with Wagaman during the campus Science Career Forum last year. The annual event aims to help UWL students discover lab science-related careers and internships in the region. It is also a recruiting opportunity for employers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time we were looking at staffing Superior Fresh and we needed the right players involved,\u201d says Wagaman. \u201cWe thought, \u2018why not go and see what some of the best of the best look like?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the opportunities he found at UWL extended beyond hiring. Cooper and Wagaman got to talking about potential partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they were a very novel company \u2014 setting up aquaculture and hydroponics,\u201d says Cooper. \u201cAnd the company fits in with a lot of the green initiatives that I think many of our science students are interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Image<\/p>\n

At Superior Fresh 2,500 pounds of Atlantic Salmon are harvested each week and 800 pounds of Rainbow Trout. Photo courtesy of Superior Fresh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

About a dozen faculty toured the Northfield facility last summer and some have already started working on projects. Xinhui Li, assistant professor of microbiology, tested food and environmental samples for pathogens this summer to assist with the company\u2019s food safety standards.<\/p>\n

In Baines and Volk\u2019s Plant\/Microbe Interactions class, students worked through the scientific research process starting with answering a real-world question and ending with a presentation of the results to a client. Cooper says that kind of hands-on experience helps students apply knowledge they are learning in class.<\/p>\n

Sabrina Aspenson,\u00a0a UWL graduate student in biology,\u00a0says in addition to exposing her to hydroponics \u2014 something she knew little about before, the class project also provided a broader experience for her potential future doing lab research. \u201cThis experiment was all conducted through the students, including experimental design, running the tests and measurements, and doing the statistical analysis,\u201d she says. \u201cThese are all useful tools to be able to do in the science world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about Superior Fresh<\/h3>\n

The Northfield facility is situated on a 720-acre native restoration property in the Coulee Region. The company started five years ago and harvested the first head of lettuce in July. Todd Wanek, president and CEO of Ashley Furniture, and his wife, Karen Wanek, are the owners.\u00a0Learn more.<\/a><\/p>\n