Wisconsin State Journal Features Nelson and Pade, Inc.®

International students flock to Montello to learn aquaponics

by Barry Adams, November 20, 2016

582ca19004520-image MONTELLO — The “no vacancy” sign glowed at the ’Tween the Lakes Motel.

There were meals at the Granite Falls Supper Club, coffee at Oyster Crackers Cafe and photos snapped of the waterfalls at Daggett Memorial Park next to the Kwik Trip. This is where a quarry, decades ago, employed more than 200 people and supplied the granite for President Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb in New York City.

But the 32 visitors to this Marquette County village of about 1,500 people who came from Ethiopia, Austria, Mexico, Kazakhstan and several U.S. states weren’t on vacation. Instead, they were here for three days of master classes to learn how to harmoniously grow fish and vegetables under the guidance of Rebecca Nelson and John Pade, founders of Nelson & Pade in Montello, one of the leading aquaponics companies in the world.

“I don’t think most people realize what’s going on there,” said Carol Faulkner, who along with her husband, Bill, own the 11-room ’Tween the Lakes Motel, just a short walk from Nelson & Pade and between Buffalo Lake and Lake Montello. “They’re spending high dollars to come here. They’re flying in from all over the world. It’s very, very interesting.”

Aquaponics uses an integrated water system but grows fish and vegetables in separate tanks. The combined systems are enclosed in a climate-controlled greenhouse, regardless of geographical location, that allows for year-round production and prevents contamination from pollution and reduces pest, insect and disease problems.

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Wisconsin State Journal Features Nelson and Pade, Inc.®

International students flock to Montello to learn aquaponics

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