麻豆社

After a career touring the world with internationally famous musicians, Jon Allen's life took a drastic change of direction. His passion for smoked fish lead him to set his own business farming and smoking trout. But this is no ordinary trout farm - it's an aquaponics system. The fish are raised in tanks, and the water they swim in is then pumped into a polytunnel and used for growing tomatoes, which thrive on the nutrients from the fish waste.

Because the plants and the fish have to share the same water, that puts restrictions on what chemicals Jon can use - no antibiotics for the fish, and no pesticides for the tomatoes. It means he's come up with alternative ways of tackling pests, like growing sacrificial herbs.

The innovative system has been chosen by judges, Charlotte Smith and Lucy Speed, as one of their three finalists in the "Farming for the Future" category of this year's 麻豆社 Food and Farming Awards. In this programme, Charlotte and Lucy visit the farm to find out more about how it works.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and Lucy Speed
Produced by Heather Simons