For many years, Maine aquaculture producers have primarily relied on back-of-the-envelope calculations to plan their businesses. As more businesses ramp up production, and a growing number of new entrants joins the sector, looking at a bank statement once per year is no longer going to cut it.
The Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) has worked with growers, lenders, and researchers to create Maine-specific aquaculture business planning tools. The tools, which focus on business and production planning, are based on species (oysters, mussels, scallops, and seaweed) , production methods, and growth rates provided by Maine researchers and the Maine aquaculture financial benchmarking studies. While tools from other regions and sectors may exist, growers in Maine needed a series of tools specific to the products they grow, the production methods they use , and the growth rates in Maine waters.
The tools were designed to, with minimal input from growers, create a simple profit and loss statement, analyze farm profitability, and plan out inventory as well as cash flow. At the request of growers, the tools can also track production, growth, and mortality rates on each site, metrics which can then be incorporated into updated farm projections. Lenders and financiers also reviewed the plans to ensure that they would be appropriate for growers seeking access to capital.
Over 30 meetings have occurred with growers to discuss these business planning tools along with other business planning resources regarding benchmarking, risk management, and busines strategy. The tools have received positive feedback and adoption from the Maine aquaculture sector, and notes are being compiled during meetings with growers to create an updated version in the summer of 2021.