Source: MAINE AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION submitted to NRP
MAINE AQUACULTURE BUSINESS TRAINING: STRENGTHENING A SECTOR OF BEGINNING FARMERS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1027289
Grant No.
2021-70033-35697
Cumulative Award Amt.
$27,763.00
Proposal No.
2021-06558
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2021
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2022
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[BFRDA]- Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Standard
Recipient Organization
MAINE AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION
103 WATER ST FL 4
HALLOWELL,ME 043471300
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The proposed project will focus on entrepreneurship and business training for beginning aquaculture farmers in Maine, who comprise the vast majority of the sector. After extensive discussions with Maine's aquaculture farmers, they have requested that this project helps to improve their farms' resiliency by focusing on financial and risk management training, including improving upon Maine aquaculture business planning and risk management tools, aiding farmers in developing diversification and marketing strategies, including the exploration of new markets, and providing an overview of farm financial benchmarking. The project's plan of action is to update the aforementioned tools and resources and then meet with beginning farmers to provide entrepreneurship, business, financial, and risk management training, while sharing the updated resources with the farmers. The meetings with the farmers will also include information and guidance on diversification and marketing strategies, including the exploration of new markets, along with how to take part in farm financial benchmarking. PD Brayden will then continue to follow-up and meet with these beginning farmers as they progress through their business planning process, form their new marketing and diversification strategies, and begin their own benchmarking. The goals for the project are to help farmers assess, analyze, and plan for the future of their farms to create a financial safety net and improve sector resiliency, all while generating jobs and economic growth in the rural areas in which aquaculture often occurs, as nearly all of this planning will take place on beginning farms that are intent on expansion.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
0%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
60237993010100%
Knowledge Area
602 - Business Management, Finance, and Taxation;

Subject Of Investigation
3799 - Cultured aquatic animals, general/other;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of the proposed project is to help beginning aquaculture farmers in Maine improve their successes in farming shellfish and seaweed through education, training, and technical assistance to providebeginning farmers with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed business decisions for their operations to improve their successes via one-on-one meetings. The goals include (1) widespread training and adoption of financial and risk management among beginning farmers in Maine's shellfish and seaweed aquaculture sector;(2) promote sound financial and production management to decrease the likelihood of products being dumped on the market either at unsatisfactory quality or well below cost due to cash flow issues; (3) increase the usage of and participation in financial and production benchmarking for beginning farmers in the Maine aquaculture sector; (4) help beginning farmers build strong foundations in their businesses with an eye on growth, especially in new markets.The objectives to accomplish these goals include:(1) Update all pre-existing resources and tools to a COVID-19 and "new normal" world, including any changes made to financial assistance and risk management options; (2) provide business and entrepreneur training via one-on-one virtual meetings with producers;(3) discuss specifics of financial and risk management on each producer's farm, including how to utilize financial benchmarking studies; (4) provide additional resources on aquaculture-specific financial and risk management (business plans, production plans, infographics and a white paper on Maine aquaculture risk management);(5) discuss distribution methods and marketing strategies with producers to aid them in targeting new markets; (6) follow-up with growers as they progress through their business plans, financial and risk management, and updated distribution and marketing strategies.The major goal of this projectis to have a significant number (>25) of beginnging farmersparticipate in this program and follow through with improved business planning practices.
Project Methods
The methods proposed to achieve the first objective, "to update all pre-existing resources and tools to a COVID-19 and 'new normal' world," will entail Brayden and Belle reviewing and revising all of the business and entrepreneur training resources created over the past four years, including other resources on risk management, how to use financial benchmarking studies, COVID-19 recovery programs, as well as marketing and distribution strategies to target new markets and increase resilience. The methods proposed to achieve the second objective, "MAA providing business and entrepreneur training via one-on-one virtual meetings with producers," will include using the Maine Department of Marine Resources' records on aquaculture leaseholder and Limited Purpose Aquaculture (LPA) license holders to create a database of Maine aquaculture producers. Brayden and Belle will then identify and remove individuals and businesses from the list who have been in operation for more than ten years. Brayden will then reach out to all producers who remain on the beginning farmer list, offering a virtual one-on-one meeting with each producer. All former members of the Maine Aquaculture in Shared Waters course will be included as well. Initial meetings will be scheduled over the course of two to three months. This was strategically chosen to be in the late fall - early winter, as it is when farm activity subsides for many producers. The third objective, "to discuss specifics of financial and risk management on each producer's farm, including how to utilize financial benchmarking studies" will be addressed by asking each producer in the meeting if they have a business plan, business strategy, or system of tracking their finances. Brayden will then provide the producer with a species-specific business plan containing growth rates from Maine, and will show producers how to input within the business plan, including reading outputs and analysis. After discussing the outputs, Brayden will walk producers through the MAA Maine Aquaculture Financial Benchmarking report to show them how it can be useful to their farms, and how they can use the provided business and financial planning tools to compare their performance to the industry benchmarks. The fourth objective, "provide additional resources on aquaculture-specific financial and risk management (business plans, production plans, infographics and a white paper on Maine aquaculture risk management)" will include an overview of a suite of resources, as mentioned above. The in-meeting portion of this discussion will focus on the risk management infographics created, especially the updated "Beginner's Guide to Aquaculture Risk Management." Brayden will email all of these resources to each producer following the meeting for them to review in greater detail, especially the crop insurance options. The fifth objective, "discuss distribution methods and marketing strategies with producers to aid them in targeting new markets" will pair knowledge and resources gained from ongoing work on Maine seafood distribution to provide producers with new distribution methods and marketing strategies, including connecting individuals with relevant stakeholders. A manual on distribution methods will be shared with producers. The sixth objective, "follow-up with growers as they progress through their business plans, financial and risk management, and updated distribution and marketing strategies" entails Brayden emailing and/or calling producers within 1-2 months after the initial meeting, to check in on the progress each producer has made, and to answer any questions that may have arisen. MAA will also serve as a hub, connecting growers with other relevant individuals, whether it be other producers, extension agents, lenders, insurance agents, or seafood distributors.The project will be evaluated based on its rate of participation and the thoroughness with which participants respond. The rate of participation will be tracked at several stages, including initial business meetings (25); number of producers who fill out business plans, begin updating business strategies, and analyze new marketing and distribution options (15 - 20). This will also include the total number of meetings in this stage, as some growers will meet with Brayden multiple times as they develop and update their plans. Last, the number of growers who target specific new markets for growth will be tracked (5 - 10).

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:The project reached 41 of Maine's new and beginning aquaculture farmers, covering a variety of species (oysters, scallops, urchins, etc.). Changes/Problems:The only problems that occurred were scheduling meetings with a sector of ~200 farmers, and in the short window of the slow season (Dec.-April). Calendly has proven itself very helpful, but issues still remain in finalizing details and ensuring that people have a way of remembering the date and time of the meeting. Encouraging "homework" between meetings, and following up with reminders via email, while a challenge, also proved successful in encouraging farmer progress. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project is built upon training and professional development, as each meeting entails training, provided by PI Brayden, and professional development in the way of increasing production planning, business planning, risk management, how to apply for leases, loans, etc., and suggesting further training programs to increase overall aquaculture, business, and farming education.Several farmers indicated that these meetings changed the way thatthey thought about farming, and how they looked at/operated their own farms. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated through the Maine Aquaculture Association network, including email, newsletter, and social media. Traditional press and media have also been included. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This project has now been completed, but its goals, actions, andlegacy will live on and grow with each year in its new funding in the FY22 BFRDP.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1 - the goals were exceeded, as 41 new and beginning aquaculture farmers met with PI Brayden, where training occurred in financial and risk management, among other topics, listed below. Several farms had follow-up meetings, and many more have requested additional meetings, both multiple within a year, and year-after-year. These all will now be able to take placethanks to the BFRDP program FY22 funding. Goal 2 - Each meeting promoted (a) best practices to ensure high-quality Maine aquaculture products and (b) production and business planning to manage ideal cash flows, capital, and inventory to increase success rates in expanding business and production operations. Several farmers indicated that these meetings changed the way thatthey thought about farming, and how they looked at/operated their own farms. These farmers also tended to make the most progress. Goal 3 - All farmers were given and implemented business and production plans customized to their farms, and were shown the financial benchmarking reports and how to best utilize them Goal 4 - 89% of Maine aquaculture farmers plan to expand in the next 3 years, and many of the participants in this work used their business and production plans to apply for increases in leased acres for their farm, and to acquire loans. The increases in products and growth in new markets will occur in the following years as their products (oysters, for example, have a 2-3 year growth to market size) become ready for market.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The project reached 41 of Maine's new and beginning aquaculture farmers, covering a variety of species (oysters, scallops, urchins, etc.). Changes/Problems:The only problems that occurred were scheduling meetings with a sector of ~200 farmers, and in the short window of the slow season (Dec.-April). Calendly has proven itself very helpful, but issues still remain in finalizing details and ensuring that people have a way of remembering the date and time of the meeting. Encouraging "homework" between meetings, and following up with reminders via email, while a challenge, also proved successful in encouraging farmer progress. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project is built upon training and professional development, as each meeting entails training, provided by PI Brayden, and professional development in the way of increasing production planning, business planning, risk management, how to apply for leases, loans, etc., and suggesting further training programs to increase overall aquaculture, business, and farming education. Several farmers indicated that these meetings changed the way that they thought about farming, and how they looked at/operated their own farms. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated through the Maine Aquaculture Association network, including email, newsletter, and social media. Traditional press and media have also been included. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This project has now been completed, but its goals, actions, and legacy will live on and grow with each year in its new funding in the FY22 BFRDP.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1 - the goals were exceeded, as 41 new and beginning aquaculture farmers met with PI Brayden, where training occurred in financial and risk management, among other topics, listed below. Several farms had follow-up meetings, and many more have requested additional meetings, both multiple within a year, and year-after-year. These all will now be able to take place thanks to the BFRDP program FY22 funding. Goal 2 - Each meeting promoted (a) best practices to ensure high-quality Maine aquaculture products and (b) production and business planning to manage ideal cash flows, capital, and inventory to increase success rates in expanding business and production operations. Several farmers indicated that these meetings changed the way that they thought about farming, and how they looked at/operated their own farms. These farmers also tended to make the most progress. Goal 3 - All farmers were given and implemented business and production plans customized to their farms, and were shown the financial benchmarking reports and how to best utilize them Goal 4 - 89% of Maine aquaculture farmers plan to expand in the next 3 years, and many of the participants in this work used their business and production plans to apply for increases in leased acres for their farm, and to acquire loans. The increases in products and growth in new markets will occur in the following years as their products (oysters, for example, have a 2-3 year growth to market size) become ready for market.

    Publications