9 Aquaponics Farming KPI Metrics to Track and How to Calculate

Aquaponics farming is one of the fastest growing agricultural industries and for good reason. It can provide fresh, organic produce in urban environments without using soil or pesticides. But like any other form of farming, aquaponics requires careful monitoring to make sure your fish are healthy and happy – and you’re making money! To help you keep track of all the metrics involved in aquaponics farming, I’ve compiled a list of KPI metrics to look at and how to calculate them.

1. Yield (lbs/sqft)

Yield is the amount of food you can harvest from your aquaponics system. It can be calculated using the following formula:

Yield = Final weight (lbs) / total weight (lbs)

So if you grow a crop in your aquaponics system and end up harvesting 500 lbs of lettuce, your yield would be 500/1000 lbs or 0.5 lbs/ft2. This is an important metric because it helps you determine whether or not your farming practices are working effectively and efficiently.

2. Growth rate of seeds and root crops

Seed and root crop growth rate is an important metric to track. You will use this metric to see if you have the right balance of nutrients, light, and temperature. You can also use this information to see if your plants are getting enough light or if they need more or less water.

To Calculate Plant Growth Rates , take the weight of your plants at their current age and subtract the weight of their seedlings when they were born (or when they were transplanted). Then divide by the number of days that have passed since planting/transplanting. This tells you how much each plant has grown per day on average.

If you’re growing lettuce, basil, or any other leafy vegetable, you’ll want to pay attention to how much water your plants have. This can tell you if they need more or less water as well as the type of soil they were planted in.

3. Total LBS harvested for each harvest

To calculate the total pounds harvested, you will need to know the total number of plants grown and the weight per plant.

To calculate the number of pounds harvested:

• The first step is to take the total number of crops harvested and divide by how many months it took to grow them. This gives you an average daily harvest for each harvest.
• Then multiply that average daily harvest by 365 days per year (or however long it took for your crops to mature). This will give you an annual harvest rate or “harvest multiplier”. It is important to note that this calculation does not include any additional losses such as pests or disease outbreaks.

4. Overall cost for each harvest

In addition to the above metrics, you’ll also want to track your overall costs per harvest. This will give you a good idea of how much money is going into each harvest and if it is worth continuing with aquaponics farming. The following list is a starting point for calculating your costs:

• Cost of seeds – This can vary greatly depending on what you are growing, but it’s usually between .50 and per seed pack
• Fish feed cost – This can vary depending on the type of food and how much you feed them (e.g. pellets or flakes) but again it’s usually somewhere between .25 and per pound
• Water – Tap water is almost always free if you have a municipal service; Otherwise, it will cost around -5 per month depending on how much water you use
• Electricity – If running an air pump 24/7 that uses 220 watts continuously at 120v (which is very conservative), expect to pay around .30 per day in electricity costs
• Labor – This can vary depending on what you’re growing and the amount of labor involved, but it’s usually around .50 to per pound

Total Costs – This is the sum of all your costs above. If you’re aiming to be profitable, make sure the total is less than per pound of produce grown.

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5. Number of days from entry to harvest

To know how long it takes to grow a crop, you need to track the number of days it took for your crops to grow from seeding to harvest.

The number of days from planting to harvest can be calculated by subtracting the date of planting (or seeding) from the date of harvesting your vegetables.

For example: if you planted tomatoes on June 5 and harvested them on July 10, there are 10 days between planting and harvesting.

6. Number of days from planting to harvest

The number of days from planting to harvest is a useful metric for keeping track of the progress of your aquaponics farm. This gives you an idea of how quickly your plants are growing and if they need more fertilizer, allowing you to optimize your productivity.

You can find the total number of days from planting to harvest by adding up all the days between each plant’s planting date and its harvest date.

For example, let’s say on March 1 we planted tomato seeds in our aquaponics system. On April 10 we harvested our first batch of tomatoes, but they had been growing since February 29!

So now that we know how many days each plant took to germinate and mature before being harvested:

Total days from planting to harvest = Tomato sprouts on February 29 + days to ripen until the first batch of tomatoes harvested on April 10 = 42 days

7. Number of days between harvest and reseeding

The time between harvest and seeding is the most important metric to track. The time between sowing and harvesting is also important because it tells you how long it takes for your plants to mature. Finally, it’s good to keep an eye on how long it takes from harvesting a crop to reseeding that crop. If the downtime lasts longer than 30 days, there may be something wrong with your system or the grow beds.

8. Cost per lb produced

Cost per lb produced (also called cost to sell) is the total cost of producing a crop divided by the total number of lbs produced. This metric is important to track if you are trying to make a profit from your aquaponics farm and can be calculated using this formula:

Cost per book produced = Total cost / total books produced

The formula is useful because it allows you to compare the cost per pound produced from different crops, as well as your total costs and income. If your farm is profitable, meaning revenues exceed total costs – you should see a positive number in this equation.

9. Revenue per lb produced

Revenue per lb of product is the profit you make per pound of product. If a head of lettuce sells for and your farm produces 10 heads, your revenue per lb produced would be () / (), or one dollar per head.

Revenue per lb produced = (Price per unit) / (Quantity sold)

For example, if a head of lettuce sells for and your farm produces 10 heads, your revenue per lb produced would be () / (), or one dollar per head.

Tracking the right metrics is more than half the battle of aquaponics farming

Aquaponics is a relatively new farming method that uses fish and plants to produce food. If you are interested in growing aquatic animals, such as freshwater shrimp or tilapia, I recommend checking out this article for more information.

In order to be successful at Aquaponics Farming, it’s important that you use the right metrics when tracking your progress. The wrong metrics can lead to wasted time and money while the right ones will help you improve your business and increase profits.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to get started in aquaponics farming, the good news is that there are plenty of resources to help you get started. The bad news is that many of them are too complicated or too vague when it comes to tracking the right metrics for your business. We hope this post has helped eliminate some common concerns about what KPIs matter and how they can be calculated effectively. If so, congratulations! You now know more about what makes an aquaponic farm successful than most people will!