Farm Design Example
Step 1
Defining the crop production targets
We start with the required production.
Step 2
Sizing the farm based on the crop production targets
Once the required production is defined, our Ceres modeling App calculates the growing area required based on the type of equipment selected (MIT45, MIT90, MITduo). This farm will be built with 4 lines of 8 MITduo.
We also select the appropriate additional equipment, like a roofing system.
Ceres sizes the fish engine (fish tanks dimensions, quantity of fish required, daily fish foodrequird, and filtration and mineralization systems). For this farm, we need 4 fish tanks of minimum 1.6m diameter, 1000 fish, and we can expect a fish food requiment of 2kg per day.
Step 3
Defining the required seeding plan
Ceres generates the required seeding plan to reach a steady farm production.
Step 4
Computing the expected monthly revenue
Ceres outputs a summary of the expected production and revenue.
Step 5
Designing the energy systems
In this step, we finalize:
• The energy requirement to grow the plants in the specific climate environment.
• The type of building (greenhouse or indoor, thermal insulation)
• The hydraulics system (pipe size, pumps, oxygenation system)
• The lighting required
• The ventilation system
• The energy supply solar system required
Our farm requires a power of 16kW.
The solar system will be made of 4 arrays of 14 pannels to produce 150kWh per day.
We elected not to use energy storage for night energy requipments.
Step 6
CAPEX required
The cost of building this farm is USD 92,000.
This cost includes:
• The aquaponics farm
• The greenhouse
• The solar energy system
• Piping and installation
• Training and coaching
Step 7
Operating costs
The monthly operating cost is $2,160
The operating costs include:
• Compensation: 2 workers: $1,000
• Electricity over solar provided: $526
• Water replacement: $2
• Fish and fish food: $128
• Seedlings: $98
• Mineral supplements: $76
• Consumables: $46
• Miscellaneous costs: $160
• Maintenance contract: $200
An energy storage system would require $36,000 additional CAPEX and a payout time of 6 years, to reduce the opeating cost to $1,630
Step 8
Profit & Lost
With a depreciation period of 60 month, or 5 years, the monthly profit during depreciation is over $1,000 and $2,400 after depreciation.
The return on investment is over 36%, and the project payout time is 33 months, or 2.7 years.
The farms returns over twice the operating costs.
Step 9
Operations
The farm has been built and is starting operating in March 2026.
The production, operating costs, and revenue will be published here.
Production
Date
Product
Weight
Revenue
March 1, 2026
Green Oak
Kg
$
March 3, 2026
Cos
Kg
$
Any question?
