Harston, Myles H.

Born on Apr. 29, 1952 in Denver Co., and spent most of his childhood years growing up on a ranch in Utah. Following high school, Myles served a two year missionary tour in the Philippines for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He returned to the states and started college, majoring in animal science. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1976, and helped his father on his farm in Illinois, where they raised and bred Arabian horses until 1984 when a tax law change made the business less lucrative. Over the next several years Myles worked at Agri-Cover Industries, which made tarps for agricultural applications. He eventually ventured out on his own, and in 2003, bought a property in Flanagan, Illinois and began AuquaRanch, an aquaponic operation that raises tilapia fish, and pumps the waste water from the fish into growing beds for vegetables, especially basil, lettuce and tomatoes. Myles markets both the fish and the produce in the local area, to selected Chicago farmers markets, and to a number of local grocery stores. He plans to significantly expand the business over the next few years. In the second part of the interview, Myles walks through the AquaRanch facility while discussing every step of the operation, from fish breeding, to marketing the fish filets, as well as the sizable grow beds that thrive on the water pumped between the fish tanks and growing beds. The operation also includes manufacturing aquaponic systems for other patrons.