The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has awarded nearly USD 1 million (EUR 958,000) in funding to five projects in Maine that strengthen regional food systems, two of which are local kelp producers.
One of the selected producers is Hancock-based Maine Coast Sea Vegetables (MCSV). Open since 1971, MCSV was the first seaweed company in the U.S. to receive Organic Certification.
“MCSV has been in the industry as long as there has been one in Maine, as a wild producer. But we also recognize that aquaculture is part of keeping seaweed sustainable as national interest grows," General Manager Seraphina Erhart, daughter of co-founders Shep and Linnette Erhart, told SeafoodSource.
The USDA award will allow MCSV to provide milling services for new aquaculture operations that don’t yet have the infrastructure to dry and mill their wet product themselves. Another local operation will dry the product, at which point MCSV will mill it.
“We already had the infrastructure,” Erhart said. “What we’re finding is that the ingredients industry is looking for more powders than what is currently available on the market, so we’re hoping to fill that gap for the wider industry.”
Biddeford-based Atlantic Sea Farms also won funding from the USDA to expand its kelp processing capacity by increasing cold storage, automating production lines, and developing infrastructure for dried and fermented kelp products, all in support of rural kelp farmers in the state.
Amanda Beal, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, emphasized that the program was designed to support these kinds of interconnections between independent producers.
"These grants reflect our commitment to support farmers, advance the future of Maine's food systems, and ensure the resilience of local and regional supply chains," Beal said. "By addressing infrastructure challenges, we are helping Maine producers meet growing demand while creating new economic opportunities."
