Transition to Organics (NWTOPP), general interest, partner spotlight & events
Kachemak Kelp Innovation Hub: Organic seaweed farming and processing
By Sundance Visser, Operations & Finance Director, AFPC
Author and former Kelp Hub employee visiting site in 2025
At the end of the Homer Spit, surrounded by the pristine and picturesque waters of Kachemak Bay, is an eclectic and vibrant project called the Kachemak Kelp Innovation Hub. During spring and summer harvest season, members of the team bustle around the site engaged in various stages of processing kelp: operating cranes and forklifts to bring kelp to the facility, scooping baskets of ribbon and sugar kelp out of bubbling holding tanks, hanging it blade by blade to dry or shoveling it into industrial grinders, and processing dried kelp further into products for sale and for research.
The Hub supports regenerative seaweed farms in Cook Inlet by testing new approaches to processing, seeking out new markets, and sharing results and information with others. Regenerative seaweed farming is a model that requires zero inputs (no fresh water, arable land, or fertilizers) while producing food and biomass while capturing carbon. Kelp is grown vertically below the surface and can be integrated with growing other types of oysters and shellfish.
Since its inception in 2022, the Hub’s applied research team has tested methods for stabilizing kelp post-harvest, such as air drying in a modified high tunnel, other drying techniques, fermenting, salting, and more. The team is matching each stabilization method to end uses according to required specifications and is producing and test-marketing a wide variety of value-added products, including specialty foods, skin care ingredients, and plant biostimulants and animal feeds for use in agriculture.
The Hub is also a newly certified organic handler, meaning that certified organic kelp can be processed in the facility. Two producers that sell to the Hub, Ebb Tide Ocean Farm and Spinnaker Sea Farms, are also certified organic. According to the USDA’s Organic Integrity Database, Alaska has only 20 certified organic producers and businesses; by comparison, Washington state has 1255. Remarkably, eight of the eleven producers and businesses that have been certified since 2024 are produce or handle kelp. Increased interest and support for mariculture statewide have created a unique opportunity for kelp producers, and there is evidence that organic certification can increase market access. Organic certification is based on terrestrial farming, and adapting standards to mariculture is an important next step. More information is available in the Organic Certification Needs Assessment for Kelp Mariculture in Alaska (Executive Summary, 2024).
“We established organic certification for the Hub and our farm to open up new, valuable markets for our crops and products, and in recognition that farming seaweed is healthy for people and the ocean environment, requiring no fertilizer or freshwater inputs, creating habitat and lowering near-shore ocean acidification.”
The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is a network assembled by the USDA’sNational Organic Program to support transitioning and organic producers with mentorship and resources. TOPP is segmented into six regions that span the United States and territories, working together to grow the network of organic producers. The NW TOPP region spans Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, and Montana and; with a focuses on providing technical assistance, resource navigation, and outreach for transitioning and existing producers with the help of partners like AFPC.
