To be sure, any efficient food production is short term. For example, Swingle grew harvestable BG in one season in sufficient quantity to exceed what one can grow in a LMB-BG pond in 5-6 seasons when fertilization is the only enhancement to fertility. Yes, the focus was on producing food in a short period of time as there is no long-term food production strategies that are efficient for food production at a farming level.

But the value of his research lies in the controls that were exercised. We are able to discern the relative success of different forage combinations. For example, from his research I am able to discern that tilapia are a negative for 0-year LMB. Many, many other insights and possible directions of research that may be applicable to recreational settings arise despite the aquaculture focus of his research.

If all one wants to grow is larger sizes of LMB, the solutions get simpler but certainly the food growing aspect of owning a recreational BOW diminishes greatly with this goal. There is growing interest in managing BOWs for harvest size BG and interest in growing food with recreation in mind. Where these may be goals, I think Swingle's research may take on deeper relevance.

The best supplemental forages for this purpose seem to be those that protect their eggs in some form or another, reproduce at a young age, and reproduce fractionally throughout the growing season. These particular features make them exceedingly EASY to grow in monoculture even if they are expensive to source commercially. While they can increase production in ponds without additional feed, they could only improve water quality and increase secondary production if feeding is also implemented.

Anyways, I found his findings worth noting and their potential benefit to some worth mentioning.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers