Back to: Farm Design

The great thing about ocean farming is that farm designs are modular, scalable, and can be easily adapted to suit your site. Although most kelp farms have the same basic elements in common, every farm will look a little bit different, because every site and farmer is also unique. 

Your Farm Design will be Influenced by

Your Site Constraints

• Recall all the environmental factors we discussed during the site evaluation course: current speed, wind and wave exposure, bottom type, bottom depth, etc. These factors will influence the type of gear required and the ultimate design of your farm.

Your Business Strategy

• What do you plan to do with the kelp when it comes out of the water?
• How much kelp do you need to produce to meet your business goals?

Your Startup Budget

• Be honest with yourself about the limitations of your budget and the type of system you can realistically afford to build.

Your Social Context

• Do you need to make compromises to accommodate members of your community, such as limiting surface buoys to minimize visual disruption or choosing gear that’s easy to remove in the summer months when recreational boating is high?

As you go through the farm design process, make sure to keep these guiding principles in mind; they should factor into every choice you make.

Order of operations

The farm design process is likely to be iterative. You might need to make adjustments to your design throughout the startup process based on feedback from your permitting agency, availability of gear in your area, input from farmers in your area, etc. 

But in general, to start a farm, you’ll need to:

1. Choose the array type (or types) you want to build.

2. Determine how many arrays you’ll need to meet your production goals.

3. Determine how large a site you’ll need to house your farm.

4. Select the gear that will suit your site.

5. Submit your farm plan for a lease and permit application.