Hi all, This is my first post here, just a quick question.. in the farm design tool does the ‘Yield’ value refer to yield per harvest or yield per year?
@russell_somerville5462 Hi Russ! Yield in that context refers to total estimated biomass of a harvest/year for the purposes of estimating anchor size and holding power. The tool does not account for multiple harvests per year, so it assumes that harvest and year are the same thing. There is a course on the Hub about using the farm design tool here, and while it doesn't specifically call out the definition of yield, this section gets into a bit more about yield constraints. I hope that helps! - Paige
@paige_resnick3191 Hi Paige, I am just trying to work out some realistic yields and revenue returns based on the farm design tool and GW basic financial model spreadsheet. Both excellent resources I should say! The spreadsheet has tabs for assumptions, revenue, expenses, p&l / cashflow. Under revenue, it lists food and non-food revenue. I assume food is oysters, scallops and mussels all lumped together in one basket with the revenue calculated by weight. Is that correct? It says the food is being sold at $10/lb. The non-food item (seaweed) is being sold initially at $0.25 / lb. I am in Australia, Tasmania specifically so I can get the local wholesale / retail revenue figures and put them into the spreadsheet for accurate local estimates. Am I on the right track? Can you provide or point to any other resource that might more detailed yield figures for oysters, scallops and mussels as individual items per 100 feet of line (seed string) planted? How much seaweed can you expect per annum from 100ft of line? Any 'real-life' yield information would be very much appreciated. Cheers, Jonathan
The short answer is that the food and non-food revenue in this case both refer to different end uses for cultivated kelps. The spreadsheet could be expanded upon to include other species and sales strategies (e.g. shucked oysters, or oysters on half shell, etc). The price points in the spreadsheet are based on a survey of kelp farmers in North America. Kelp is being sold at a range of price points depending on the location, species, quality, quantity, and steps to value-add (such as chopping and drying) before sale. In the context of this spreadsheet, though, it's purely hypothetical. And, yes, absolutely, you should be editing the numbers to reflect actual costs and/or prices in your region and for the products you are producting. For some additional context on these numbers, you can refer to the Kelp Sales 101 webinar in our Events archive.
As for yields, that can be really site specific. We've seen anything from 1 - 25 kg/meter at end of season harvest, depending on where the farm is located, when seed was out-planted, and the quality of the seed. If you were to sample growth along a longline, you might also find that some sample plots have large volumes, but when you harvest and average that yield over the entire longline, the yield/meter is a bit less than what you might project if you're basing your numbers on the sample point alone. In other words, the density along a longline can vary. Generally speaking, 5-6 kg/meter is a decent target, and production can ideally be improved if farm design and seed quality/timing are optimized.
Shellfish yield will also depend on your farm design. There's lots of variation here -- depending on site, gear type, market, and other factors. Are you using/considering continuous socks for the mussels? What methods are you using/considering for oysters and scallops?
Could you share any more details about the target market and end use (and therefore the volume needs) for the different crops you'd like to grow or the business model you're developing?
@russell_somerville5462 Hi Russ! Yield in that context refers to total estimated biomass of a harvest/year for the purposes of estimating anchor size and holding power. The tool does not account for multiple harvests per year, so it assumes that harvest and year are the same thing. There is a course on the Hub about using the farm design tool here, and while it doesn't specifically call out the definition of yield, this section gets into a bit more about yield constraints. I hope that helps! - Paige
@paige_resnick3191
Hi Paige, I am just trying to work out some realistic yields and revenue returns based on the farm design tool and GW basic financial model spreadsheet. Both excellent resources I should say!
The spreadsheet has tabs for assumptions, revenue, expenses, p&l / cashflow.
Under revenue, it lists food and non-food revenue. I assume food is oysters, scallops and mussels all lumped together in one basket with the revenue calculated by weight. Is that correct?
It says the food is being sold at $10/lb. The non-food item (seaweed) is being sold initially at $0.25 / lb. I am in Australia, Tasmania specifically so I can get the local wholesale / retail revenue figures and put them into the spreadsheet for accurate local estimates.
Am I on the right track? Can you provide or point to any other resource that might more detailed yield figures for oysters, scallops and mussels as individual items per 100 feet of line (seed string) planted? How much seaweed can you expect per annum from 100ft of line? Any 'real-life' yield information would be very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hey @jonathan_tasmania_australia I'm hopping in here to provide some context on these numbers.
The short answer is that the food and non-food revenue in this case both refer to different end uses for cultivated kelps. The spreadsheet could be expanded upon to include other species and sales strategies (e.g. shucked oysters, or oysters on half shell, etc). The price points in the spreadsheet are based on a survey of kelp farmers in North America. Kelp is being sold at a range of price points depending on the location, species, quality, quantity, and steps to value-add (such as chopping and drying) before sale. In the context of this spreadsheet, though, it's purely hypothetical. And, yes, absolutely, you should be editing the numbers to reflect actual costs and/or prices in your region and for the products you are producting. For some additional context on these numbers, you can refer to the Kelp Sales 101 webinar in our Events archive.
As for yields, that can be really site specific. We've seen anything from 1 - 25 kg/meter at end of season harvest, depending on where the farm is located, when seed was out-planted, and the quality of the seed. If you were to sample growth along a longline, you might also find that some sample plots have large volumes, but when you harvest and average that yield over the entire longline, the yield/meter is a bit less than what you might project if you're basing your numbers on the sample point alone. In other words, the density along a longline can vary. Generally speaking, 5-6 kg/meter is a decent target, and production can ideally be improved if farm design and seed quality/timing are optimized.
Shellfish yield will also depend on your farm design. There's lots of variation here -- depending on site, gear type, market, and other factors. Are you using/considering continuous socks for the mussels? What methods are you using/considering for oysters and scallops?
Could you share any more details about the target market and end use (and therefore the volume needs) for the different crops you'd like to grow or the business model you're developing?
@paige_resnick3191
Hi Paige, I am just trying to work out some realistic yields and revenue returns based on the farm design tool and GW basic financial model spreadsheet. Both excellent resources I should say!
The spreadsheet has tabs for assumptions, revenue, expenses, p&l / cashflow.
Under revenue, it lists food and non-food revenue. I assume food is oysters, scallops and mussels all lumped together in one basket with the revenue calculated by weight. Is that correct?
It says the food is being sold at $10/lb. The non-food item (seaweed) is being sold initially at $0.25 / lb. I am in Australia, Tasmania specifically so I can get the local wholesale / retail revenue figures and put them into the spreadsheet for accurate local estimates.
Am I on the right track? Can you provide or point to any other resource that might more detailed yield figures for oysters, scallops and mussels as individual items per 100 feet of line (seed string) planted? How much seaweed can you expect per annum from 100ft of line? Any 'real-life' yield information would be very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hey @jonathan_tasmania_australia I'm hopping in here to provide some context on these numbers.
The short answer is that the food and non-food revenue in this case both refer to different end uses for cultivated kelps. The spreadsheet could be expanded upon to include other species and sales strategies (e.g. shucked oysters, or oysters on half shell, etc). The price points in the spreadsheet are based on a survey of kelp farmers in North America. Kelp is being sold at a range of price points depending on the location, species, quality, quantity, and steps to value-add (such as chopping and drying) before sale. In the context of this spreadsheet, though, it's purely hypothetical. And, yes, absolutely, you should be editing the numbers to reflect actual costs and/or prices in your region and for the products you are producting. For some additional context on these numbers, you can refer to the Kelp Sales 101 webinar in our Events archive.
As for yields, that can be really site specific. We've seen anything from 1 - 25 kg/meter at end of season harvest, depending on where the farm is located, when seed was out-planted, and the quality of the seed. If you were to sample growth along a longline, you might also find that some sample plots have large volumes, but when you harvest and average that yield over the entire longline, the yield/meter is a bit less than what you might project if you're basing your numbers on the sample point alone. In other words, the density along a longline can vary. Generally speaking, 5-6 kg/meter is a decent target, and production can ideally be improved if farm design and seed quality/timing are optimized.
Shellfish yield will also depend on your farm design. There's lots of variation here -- depending on site, gear type, market, and other factors. Are you using/considering continuous socks for the mussels? What methods are you using/considering for oysters and scallops?
Could you share any more details about the target market and end use (and therefore the volume needs) for the different crops you'd like to grow or the business model you're developing?