Our Story
It started in a backyard. In 2012, Michael Hanan and Lloyd Minick set off on a mission to help pioneer a sustainable approach to agriculture for the 21st Century. They began by farming in their own backyard in East Austin, growing organic row crops, raising chickens and bees, creating compost, as well as growing fish and vegetables with two aquaponics systems in naturally-ventilated greenhouses. They quickly realized the extraordinary efficiency and productivity of growing with aquaponics in greenhouses - using 90% less water, 90% less space, and less than half the labor compared to their field-grown crops.
Inspired, Michael and Lloyd travelled the country (and abroad) to learn from the world’s top scientists in the fields of aquaponics, hydroponics, and controlled-environment agriculture. Seeing the many challenges facing agriculture (e.g. water and resource scarcity, a growing population, and climate change), Michael and Lloyd became convinced that these technologies would become an increasingly important part of the global food system.
They founded Ten Acre Organics with the vision of creating a high-tech, local farm model that could be replicated around the world to grow high-quality, nutritious foods using less water, less land, less labor, and fewer non-renewable resources than today’s conventional agriculture. They wanted their farm model to be small enough to be located right on the edges of cities and able to distribute entirely locally, yet large enough to be profitable so that it could scale and replicate around the world - with a few calculations they figured that “ten acres” would be just about right.
Following the success of their 1/10th-acre prototype urban farm in Austin, Michael, Lloyd, and the team at Ten Acre Organics are working to construct their full-scale farm model - the most sustainable and productive ten-acre farm in the world. With the support of friends, family, investors, mentors, and the local community, Ten Acre Organics is working to cultivate a healthier, happier, and more sustainable world, one farm at a time.
Inspired, Michael and Lloyd travelled the country (and abroad) to learn from the world’s top scientists in the fields of aquaponics, hydroponics, and controlled-environment agriculture. Seeing the many challenges facing agriculture (e.g. water and resource scarcity, a growing population, and climate change), Michael and Lloyd became convinced that these technologies would become an increasingly important part of the global food system.
They founded Ten Acre Organics with the vision of creating a high-tech, local farm model that could be replicated around the world to grow high-quality, nutritious foods using less water, less land, less labor, and fewer non-renewable resources than today’s conventional agriculture. They wanted their farm model to be small enough to be located right on the edges of cities and able to distribute entirely locally, yet large enough to be profitable so that it could scale and replicate around the world - with a few calculations they figured that “ten acres” would be just about right.
Following the success of their 1/10th-acre prototype urban farm in Austin, Michael, Lloyd, and the team at Ten Acre Organics are working to construct their full-scale farm model - the most sustainable and productive ten-acre farm in the world. With the support of friends, family, investors, mentors, and the local community, Ten Acre Organics is working to cultivate a healthier, happier, and more sustainable world, one farm at a time.
