ANDY MCARDLE
Founder, Chief Executive Farmer
Andrew McArdle graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Management in 2012. In 2014, he received an M.S. degree from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi in Fisheries and Mariculture, where the bulk of his work revolved around commercial aquaponic production (the marriage of hydroponics & aquaculture).
After graduation, he worked as a Research Associate with Texas AgriLife Research in Weslaco, TX where he designed and operated a 1,500 sq ft aquaponic system that was used for both research and public outreach. In the summer of 2015, he had an opportunity to do something he had always wanted to do: wildland firefighting. He spent that summer fighting fires in Montana, South Dakota, and Idaho.
Once fire season ended, Andy started his own business, Mountain Man Micro Farms LLC, in November of 2015. Since then he has been operating the urban farm, which specializes in specialty herbs and microgreens. The farm currently grows over 30 varieties of these greens that primarily end up as garnishes on the plates of restaurants along the front range. During this time, he has also partnered with Targeted Aquaponic Growth, a Dallas-based nonprofit, working as a board member and the Director of Aquaponic Operations. The nonprofit organization’s core mission is to bring aquaponic systems to developing countries. In 2017, Andy designed and helped construct one of the pilot systems for the organization in the town of Arua, Uganda.
