Sep. 30—A small agricultural business in Lockport was approved for a $25,000 micro-enterprise grant from the Niagara County Development Corp. at its Sept. 13 board of directors meeting.
Bina & Gill, established in December at 4794 Lower Mountain Road, applied for a $25,000 grant to buy and equip a vehicle to haul fish and vegetables grown and bred in an aquaponics greenhouse. According to its application, they are working with the USDA Farm Service Agency to get a 30-year guaranteed farm ownership loan for $600,000.
"The USDA has actually been pretty responsive," said Gina Pizziconi-Cupples, an Air Force reservist who owns the business with her husband, an Air Force retiree, Bill Rondeau, Jr. "Aquaponics is pretty rare in this country."
The couple will be growing greens, fruits and veggies in a greenhouse which will be augmented with flood lights for a couple hours each night. Not 24-hour lights, Pizziconi-Cupples said, and there will also be live trout swimming there too. The waste from the fish goes to the plants which is an idea that seems to gaining ground — that food grows better around water ecosystems, she said.
Andrea {span}Klyczek, assistant director of{/span} the NCDIA, said that the micro-enterprise program was developed to level the playing field for small businesses. Applicants must work with the Small Business Development and receive a certificate before being eligible for the program.
{span}Klyczek{/span} said that each application is reviewed and then brought to the board of directors. While owner identity is not objectively ranked, the staff collects the information and informs the directors of any identity status. In the case of Bina & Gill, the business is both woman and veteran owned.
"The county has been applying to the state for the funds and receiving $300,000 each year for three years and we're proud of that," Klyczek said.