June 26, 2013 Dear Friends of Aqua Vita Farms; First and foremost, thank you, without you

we would not be here today! I am truly grateful for all who have supported our mission: to utilize our communities existing infrastructure, without undue taxation of its resources, in an effort to better serve future generations. To accomplish this mission Aqua Vita Farms established Central New Yorks first Controlled Environment Agriculture facility utilizing the Aquaponic farming method. It is just over two years from the day we took possession of the old factory building in Sherrill, NY and after many hurdles we are happy to say that we have finally figured it out. That being said, our plan was to be making money now, and we will be in the next few months. We have great products, and we have eager customers. But we are out of funds and out of options. Unless we get an investor, we will have to sell or close. However, this idea is bigger than any of us. It needs to keep going. I would rather sell the entire business, at a loss to myself, than allow another setback to the issue of global food security. So it is with a heavy heart that I am announcing that Aqua Vita Farms is for sale. At Aqua Vita Farms we have overcome many challenges, challenges which have closed the doors of other Aquaponic ventures and challenges which will be faced by those who are currently entering the field. Converting dilapidated former manufacturing space into an indoor ecosystem was fraught with challenges, not the least of which was that the building had no power or running water. However it was a commitment I feel passionate about. As a life long resident of New York State I have watched first hand as the companies, which made a fortune in our communities, abandoned our State and Country for greener pastures leaving us with massive, empty buildings. I have also watched as millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent, with limited success, to attract manufacturing and technology companies to inhabit these aged structures. I am proud of the fact that AVF has proven there is another solution. Other challenges, such as how to control pests without the use of pesticides, cost effective and environmentally responsible transshipment and cost of goods sold v. retail price, have been similarly overcome. However the biggest challenge is that Aquaponics is a

relatively new science, one that is not fully understood. The culturing of fish and plants in a closed loop system requires compromises on the ideal growth parameters of both species. Aquaponic systems are living machines, the fish, the plants and the bacteria all require a balanced ecosystem. Early mistakes in this realm, which cost us dearly in terms of capital; have lead to the creation of our Dual Flow Linear Mineralization System a technology, proprietary to Aqua Vita Farms, which greatly enhances the successful cohabitation of species. This technology is critical to the success of any Aquaponic venture and we believe it to be the missing link in the Aquaponic solution. This is a substantial move forward for the industry as a whole and one that I believe will effect positive global change. The Aquaponic farming method combined with Controlled Environment Agriculture offers a solution to a pressing global problem; food security. The reality is that the climate is changing, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are damaging our ecosystem, the population is growing exponentially and increasing wealth of countries like China and India are creating additional demand for food. All of these individual realities taken together mean that global food production must increase significantly by 2050, or the ramifications will be enormous. Successful Controlled Environment Agriculture means fresh products, grown year round, closer to the consumer, greatly reducing energy required for shipment. It also allows the ability to engineer the energy consumed by the farming process to improve energy in energy out ratio. No matter how it is accomplished agriculture, creating food for human consumption, is an energy intensive process. In the two years of operation we have collected enough data, conducted enough experiments, to learn how to effectively control this ratio. As I said we have figured it out. We have figured out how to grow all natural, pesticide, herbicide and chemical free produce and seafood. We have figured out how to fully mineralize the solid waste of the fish to produce macro and micro nutrients required for the plants while achieving zero effluent discharge. We have figured out how to make it a profitable venture. However, it took everything we had to arrive at this point. I refuse to allow the advancements of Aqua Vita Farms, the Dual Flow Linear Mineralization, the knowledge and experience, all of which I believe to be for the greater benefit of society as a whole, to be lost to the statistics of start-ups. I sincerely thank you for your support;

Mark E. Doherty
Mark E. Doherty, Owner Aqua Vita Farms, LLC