Diversifying seaweed farm
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Hi guys! As a potential Seaweed farmer here I am wondering how we can diversify our seaweed farm to make it more profitable , understand that farming oysters and mussles close to the seaweed increases the quality of the seaweed..so that could be a route.
My main concern is the success of making the farm into a full-time enterprise.
A few.farmers.here are making simple products like salt and dried sugar Kelp and selling them to restaurants, im more interested in upscaling the whole enterprise.
Would appreciate any feedback or.advice 👍
Farm is going to be located on west coast of Sweden.
Thanks./Lee
@lee_blackwell
Hi Lee,
I have an old contact in Bergen that may be still in the oyster business.
David
@david_geist Thanks David! I Appreciate all the help i can get.
leeblackwell007@hotmail.co.uk is my email adress if it's OK.
@david_geist Thanks David! I Appreciate all the help i can get.
leeblackwell007@hotmail.co.uk is my email adress if it's OK.
@lee_blackwell Hey, nice to see someone else from the Swedish west coast here! I’m based in Goteborg and thinking about starting up something, here or in Bohuslän. Where are you?
About profitability, I’ve been thinking that scale and crops are not all there is to it. I’ve been thinking about combining sea farming with events, maybe culture/education and teaming up with others applying for different types of project funding.
@mikael_johanssonholmstrm
Contact me mikael. I think we have a lot to discuss
leeblackwell007@hotmail.co.uk
Instagram =nordiskkelpcompany
@mikael_johanssonholmstrm
Contact me mikael. I think we have a lot to discuss
leeblackwell007@hotmail.co.uk
Instagram =nordiskkelpcompany
@lee_blackwell
My research has been in the area of warm water but I think our solution should be similar in cold regions. Fish farms give off nitrogen while seaweed farms need nitrogen. Make a checker board of the two on the surface but also grow shellfish in baskets in the middle and on the bottom. For more ideas, read our booklet at marinea.org I don't know if it can be done up there but wine needs to be kept at a certain temperature to age properly. This can be done by putting the bottles in a basket and adjust the depth to the required temperature. Create floating greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables hydroponically. There are some places where you can mine the waters for rare earth minerals. Some of them cost so much that it is actually feasable to sift the waters in some regions but the operation would have to be at a pretty large scale to make it feasible. Hope this helps.
@bob_llewellyn Thanks Bob
Hello @lee_blackwell - thanks for your question!
GreenWave recommends a “whole leaf” strategy, in which you sell to multiple customers or markets. For example, maybe you sell some fresh, delicate baby kelp in the early spring to a high-end restaurant in your town, but you also connect with a local farm that wants to take a large quantity of your kelp at a lower price to enhance their soil.
In terms of higher volume opportunities, you might consider working with a packaged foods company, or looking into other sectors like cosmetics or materials Maybe there is a seaweed processor or aggregator in your area looking to purchase larger quantities?
We hope you will join us for our How to Start a Kelp Farm: Business Planning session to learn more about financial planning to meet your business goals.
@grace_collery
Thanks Grace
@grace_collery
Thanks Grace
@bob_llewellyn Thanks Bob