From left, are Dawn Miller, Rob Miller, Karly Rae, State Rep. Beau LaFave, Hannah Miller, Jonnie Miller and Jake Miller. LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, visited the Miller Family Farm in Carney to view its controlled environment growing techniques.

CARNEY — Dawn and Rob Miller of Miller Family Farm hosted Michigan Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain and Karly Rae at the farm.

The Miller Family Farm was established in 2012 in Carney. The farm uses controlled environment agriculture, hydroponics and aquaponics to bring fresh produce and fish year-round to groceries stores, schools and farmers markets. The farm strives to be environmentally friendly, energy-efficient and sustainable.

LaFave and Rae toured the farm with the Miller family and learned how lettuce and tilapia are grown and harvested in an indoor, virtually zero waste, closed-loop system.

In the Millers’ aquaponics system, the fish are grown in indoor tanks and the fish tank water is circulated to the lettuce greenhouse. The fish tank water provides the perfect set of nutrients for the lettuce. In turn, the lettuce purifies the fish water which is then returned to the fish tanks.

Lettuce raised in an aquaponics system is cleaner than field-grown lettuce because it is not exposed to dirt that contains soil-born bacteria and pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella and listeria.

LaFave also toured the tomato greenhouse, which is undergoing routine maintenance in preparation for the next tomato crop planned for the fall 2017. The Miller Family Farm is well known for its large, slicing tomatoes that are grown hydroponically.

Lettuce is currently harvested three times a week-year round and may be found under the EatUP label in nearby grocery stores in Escanaba, Powers, Stephenson, Wallace, Menominee and Marinette, Wis.

Tomatoes will be ripe starting in early October and then will be available on a continual basis going forward.

Sometime in the near future, the Miller family plans to offer tilapia locally at the farm. The Miller family welcomes individuals, groups and organizations to tour their facility by appointment. More information is available on the Miller Family Farm website at www.eatupmichigan.com, or on the Miller Family Farms facebook page.

LaFave was elected in November 2016 to the Michigan House to represent Delta, Dickinson and Menominee counties. He serves on the Energy Policy, Insurance, Judiciary and Natural Resources committees in the state legislature.