The Ohio Center for Aquaculture Research and Development (OCARD) at the Ohio State University, in partner with Ohio Aquaculture Association (OAA), University of Wisconsin -SP, and other partners, has developed and operated the Aquaculture Boot Camp (ABC). ABC program offers new and next generation farmers 3-I levels, 3 areas and 3 types of integrated training in aquaculture/aquaponic production and business management strategies. The "3-I levels" are: Intensive , an in-depth level involving immersion in a year-long hands-on training and classroom/mentoring program; Intermediate , a mid-level involving participation in a variety of learning activities and workshops; and Introductory, a general or entry level where sharing of information is the goal, and involving participation in the ABC online education and webinars. The "3 areas" are general/traditional aquacul ture, aquaponics, and related business and marketing. The "3 types" are hands-on, classroom/mentoring, and internet/webinar.
The ABC Phase I (ABC-1) had been successfully completed during 2012 - 2015: By the end of the ABC 1 project, twenty-four new businesses/farms were created by 2013 and 2014 year-class ABC Intensive graduates . After participation in two ABC intensive classes in 2013 and 2014, students, on a scale of 1 being strongly disagree and 4 being strongly agree, reported an average of 3.5 when asked if the program met their expectations, and they would recommend this program to their business partners or relatives . At the end of ABC-1, the ABC Intermediate program surpassed the projected number of participants by 186.87%, and the Introductory program surpassed the participation goa l by 557.10%. That means that more that 700 new and beginning farmers gained knowledge of aquaculture production and new technologies by participating in ABC Intermediate workshops and bus tours, and more than 9,000 participants gained new knowledge by accessing ABC Introductory, ABC website tools and information, ABC/OAA Newsletters and magazines. In addition, some participants or potential new farmers who are interested in aquaculture training experience received ABC and OAA internships and mentoring.
ABC Phase 2 (ABC-2) has been successfully conducted during 2016 - 2019 in Midwest. A key addition to ABC-2 is the inclusion of aquaponics. This expansion is a direct result of strong interest from Ohio and the North Central Region. For ABC-2, thirty-six one-day Intensive classes were completed, and 105 highly motivated new and limited resource fish farmers and aquaponic producers have been trained through the Intensive program; 35 pilot- scale aquaculture/aquaponics practice projects were completed by the intensive students; 12 general workshops in aquaculture and related business and 4 bus tours of aqua-farms were conducted for both Intensive and Intermediate students; Five conferences were held for all the "3I" level students; Around 900 new and beginning farmers gained knowledge of aquaculture/aquaponic production and new technologies by participating in ABC Intermediate workshops and bus tours, and more than 10,000 participants gained new knowledge by accessing ABC Introductory and ABC website tools, and Newsletters. Fourteen internships are complete through Internship program. Twenty-four issues of aquaculture/aquaponics Newsletters were published. Twenty-one new businesses/farms have been created by the 2017 and 2018 ABC-2 Intensive course graduates.