Keep customers apprised of any changes to crop quantity or quality
Lesson 1
Preparing for Harvest
Back to: Harvest
Start Planning Early
Harvest time is the most rewarding part of being an ocean farmer–you get to see all of your hard work culminate into a beautiful and robust crop that you hoist from the water. But it can also be a frenetic season, full of quick decisions and demands on your time. You only get one shot at harvest, so it is important to do as much up-front planning as possible. During the winter months, we strongly recommend you:
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Order harvest containers, packaging, and labels well in advance
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Recruit for harvest labor
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Reserve additional boats or vehicles, if needed
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Determine if you’ll be doing multiple harvests or harvest in just one go
You’ll also need to decide early in the winter if you’re planning to do any of your own processing. Venturing into the realm of preliminary processing such as drying, blanching, or freezing your kelp could subject you to food safety laws and restrictions. Even if you’re operating at a cottage industry scale, research the necessary permits and restrictions months in advance of the harvest season.
Farmer Insight
Especially when you’re just starting out, do yourself a favor: Keep it simple. Be a farmer. If you can, sell your kelp as an unprocessed wet-weight crop. Processing is not simple. Food safety regulations are mind-bogglingly complex, liabilities are high, and it’s a low profit margin business with high start-up costs. It’s important work, but it’s an entirely different skill set than farming.