How to Start a Kelp Farm: Kickstarting the Next Generation of Ocean Farmers

Since its launch in April 2022, more than 4,000 users have joined GreenWave’s Regenerative Ocean Farming Hub including active farmers, hatchery managers, and others looking to get their feet wet in the industry. The goal of the free online resource, which includes a robust suite of courses, 80+ how-to videos, interactive farm design tools, and an online community for aspiring and active farmers to connect and propel the industry forward, was to create an accessible entry point for people new to the field.

“There’s a lot of content to grasp early on and it can be overwhelming,” says GreenWave Director of Training and Support Lindsay Olsen. “We decided to break down the content into bite-sized sections to help people get through to the next stage.”

In January 2023, GreenWave launched the How to Start a Kelp Farm series, a 6-week guided learning journey through the curriculum, geared towards aspiring and beginning farmers. The course creates a peer-motivated learning environment for prospective farmers to learn the fundamentals of kelp farming and evaluate whether or not they want to pursue steps to launch their own farm.

Each week, course assignments followed the progression of the Hub’s Getting Started track, covering topics such as site evaluation, farm design, and permitting. Weekly webinar sessions featured presentations from experienced kelp farmers, marine engineers, scientists, permit coordinators, and GreenWave staff, and lively discussions that continued on the Hub Community. 

“Speakers from all over the country brought the topics to life and GreenWave provided amazing support for students/prospective farmers,” said participant Kate Stone. “You can go from knowing literally nothing to being ready to start the process of setting up a farm in just a few weeks. The course featured truly inspiring people, from the Greenwave organizers to aquaculture specialists and farmers, and is worth following for that alone.”

How to Start a Kelp Farm is the first training series of its kind offered by GreenWave, drawing in more than 840 prospective farmers who participated in live sessions and tuned in asynchronously. 

“We learned that we cast a wide net in terms of who is interested in our training, which is valuable for shaping future programming,” says Lindsay. Attendees expressed interest in finance, scientific research, market development, and other fields in addition to farming and kelp seed production. 

The goal of the course is to guide people through the decision of whether ocean farming is right for them. Those who do choose to take the next steps towards farming can access advanced Hub resources as they pursue the farm permitting process and work towards launching operations. Once they transition to farming, they will be eligible for other GreenWave programs such as the Kelp Climate Fund, farmer mentorship, and Farmer Forum. “These beginning farmers can continue to leverage the expertise and hive mind on the Hub Community,” says Lindsay. “We’re excited to welcome their questions, ideas, and contributions to discussions as they progress on their farming journey.” 

GreenWave is inspired by the wave of interest and commitment of this next generation of ocean farmers. Stay tuned for information on upcoming GreenWave trainings.