Aquaponic Farmer Trevor Kenkel ’18 Grows Springworks to Accommodate Increased Demand

“The pandemic caused a lot of disruption for grocery stores and the buyers who support them,” Kenkel said.

“Shipping delays from west coast vendors forced supermarket buyers to seek out local and regional sources for safe, nutritious, and sustainable food of all kinds.”

A ribbon cutting June 19, 2021, celebrated the expansion’s first installment, a 40,000-square-foot greenhouse that came online in May, immediately tripling the company’s yearly production of Bibb, Romaine, leaf lettuce, salad mix, and other produce, and provided for thousands of additional pounds of tilapia, which are instrumental to Springworks’ aquaponic greens-growing process.

Aquaponics is a type of farming that fosters the natural symbiotic relationship between plants and fish. 

Kenkel says the Springworks aquaponics system uses ninety percent less water than soil-based agriculture and uses no synthetic pesticides.