2021 Wakulla County Special Report by Rowland Publishing, Inc.

2021 Wakulla County Special Report

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Residents of Wakulla County maintain a close relationship to the natural world, which is seen in business activities including agriculture and aquaculture.

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OVERCOMING OBSTACLES Oyster growers pivot in response to pandemic BY LAZ ALEMAN

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Jennifer and John Fountain own Nature Coast Oyster. A self-described “newbie” who has been in business since 20ı8, Jennifer sells her oysters to a Panacea processor, who in turn sells them regionally and across the Southeast. Besides the pandemiccaused drop in sales, the Fountains’ oysters suffered high mortalities. “I’m fortunate my husband works full time and has a good income so that I’m able to keep going,” Jennifer said. “If this were our livelihood, I don’t know how we would have made it.” Partners Tim Jordan and Walt Dickson run Saucey

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arming is a risky enterprise, and aquaculture — a form of farming — no less so. Besides the common culprits of weather, markets, diseases and government regulations, oyster growers were dealt two extraordinary blows in recent times. First came 20ı8’s Hurricane Michael, and just when the industry was recovering, the 2020 pandemic hit. Aquaculturists, however, are a resilient lot as they must be, if they are to cope with the capriciousness of nature and the marketplace. The oyster companies that are pulling through the pandemic — however battered — are those that adapted quickly to the “new normal.” “The innovative ones found a way around the coronavirus,” said Bob Ballard, director of the Wakulla Environmental Institute (WEI), which teaches aquaculture. “Those who sat around hoping things would return to normal without being proactive are probably not in business.” Among the survivors are OysterMom, Saucey Lady Oysters, Nature Coast Oyster, Outlaw Oyster and Oyster Boss. OysterMom and Nature Coast are small, mostly retail operations that farm single leases, whereas Saucey Lady, Outlaw Oyster and Oyster Boss are larger growers that farm multiple leases, process their own and others’ oysters, and largely wholesale their products. Outlaw Oyster additionally sells aquaculture supplies. When the pandemic closed bars and restaurants, these companies pivoted rapidly and turned to or intensified retail and direct-to-consumer sales. “I accelerated retail marketing,” said OysterMom’s Deborah Keller, whose business is solidly grounded in retail. Customers order from Keller via phone or text and pick up their oysters during designated hours. She also sells oysters online and at several Tallahassee open markets, as well as operating a catering service. “I survived because I was established in retail,” Keller said. “The other reason is I’ve stayed small.”

Aquaculturist Deborah Keller of OysterMom inspects the crop at her lease. Farmed oysters are uniform in shape and size and are free of clinging organisms such as barnacles.

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Lady Oysters in Panacea. Jordan described their clientele as mostly upper-end bars and restaurants in the Southeast. He estimated that his business has fallen off 50 to 75 percent since the pandemic arrived. “Before, we were selling 20,000 oysters weekly,” he said. “Now we’re doing about half.” His company is trying to find the key to selling directly to customers. “It’s something we’re pursuing. We know the market’s there. We just haven’t hit the right combination.” Danita Sassor and Blake Garner own Outlaw Oyster, another Panacea-based operation. “We’re not doing great, but we’re doing good enough, considering the circumstances,” Sassor said. When the lockdown dried up their regional and out-of-state wholesaling, Sassor said they switched to retailing via social media. “Customers came out of the woodwork,” she said. “Our retail sales went through the roof when our wholesale sales dropped to nothing.” Since then, 52

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wholesaling has somewhat rebounded, but nothing like before. “We used to sell 30,000 weekly,” she said. “Now we’re selling about ı0,000. It’s not great, but I’m happy to still be in business.” Jeff Tilley and son Reid own Oyster Boss, a Sopchoppy-based operation whose customers span the Southeast and include New Orleans. The week the restaurants and bars closed, Tilley had 30,000 oysters ready for delivery. Faced with a potential disaster, he switched to retail, cut prices and began advertising on social media. “The long and short of it is that we sold all 30,000, and by the following week, we were back in production,” he said. Sales have since normalized. “I’ve maintained a healthy balance sheet by finding creative ways to bring our products to buyers,” Tilley added. He’s also diversified into selling crawfish and wild-caught shrimp and oysters. “I want to be the Walmart of Sopchoppy,” he said, laughing.

Portia Sapp heads the aquaculture division at the Florida Department of Agriculture, which oversees the industry. She notes that shellfish farmers face additional marketing hurdles because of stringent state requirements to ensure consumers’ safety. “There are many extra safety protections in place for shellfish that don’t apply to other commodities,” she said. Notwithstanding the obstacles and setbacks, Sapp said the industry is thriving. “It’s rapidly growing,” she said. “Every year, there’s more interest and new areas developed.” Saucey Lady’s Jordon offers one reason why. “Almost any endeavor nowadays, corporate America has taken over,” he said. “But oyster farming remains relatively small.” Oyster farmers relish the independence and entrepreneurial challenge. The work, they also say, keeps them fit and healthy, and the sunrises and sunsets on the water can’t be beat.

PHOTO BY ERICH MARTIN

Keller tends to the cages used for oyster growing. Oyster sellers, given the pandemic’s impact on bars and restaurants, have resorted to a greater emphasis on retail sales.

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CULTIVATING JOBS Wakulla Environmental Institute adds small-plot farming to its programs BY LAZ ALEMAN

ewing to its mission to meld education, conservation and job creation into its every endeavor, the Wakulla Environmental Institute (WEI) continues to offer a diverse mix of traditional and technological programs. Housed in a specially designed energy-efficient and self-sufficient building on ı58 acres of natural Florida woodlands in Wakulla County, the WEI exemplifies the green values that it promotes through its environmentally focused classes. At the helm of WEI, an offshoot of Tallahassee Community College (TCC), is executive director Bob Ballard, who has been with the facility since its inception and fashions its various programs in partnership with longtime TCC President Jim Murdaugh. Ballard explained that he comes up with program ideas, vets them for viability, and if they pass the test, proposes them to Murdaugh, who may expand or enhance them and ultimately decides their fates. “I have to be the forward thinker,” Ballard said. “I think of an idea, ask if the timing is right, can I get the funding, do people want this, is it something they can earn a living from? You put all these things together and try to make it work. “We can’t afford not to be successful,” he added. “WEI is very young and has a staff of only three, plus adjunct professors. So everything that we do has to hit a home run.” Technology has allowed WEI to expand its service area via online classes. But its base remains students from Wakulla, Franklin and Leon counties, many of them former fishermen or retired or about-to-retire state workers looking for new starts. The pandemic hammered WEI, forcing it to reduce class sizes to allow for social distancing and to conduct portions of classes online. Notwithstanding the obstacles, however, the facility has soldiered on

Executive director Bob Ballard takes a break from working on a geothermal heating and cooling system for a greenhouse at WEI’s “one-acre Eden.”

with its core programs in oyster aquaculture, drones, agriculture and conservation. Best known and most popular is the oyster aquaculture program, now in its seventh year and boasting hundreds of graduates. 850 Business Magazine

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Classes in the Wakulla Environmental Institute’s popular drone program offer instruction in building and operating the flying machines and in editing aerial videos.

“We were the ones that started the oyster aquaculture industry in Florida,” Ballard said. He will also tell you that the businesses and jobs that the program has helped create have bettered Wakulla County’s economy, as well the overall health of the marine ecosystem. Second in popularity is the five-year-old drone program, which can lead to attainment of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ı07 license. The FAA, in fact, has designated WEI a training center. “If you’re flying drones and earning income from it, you need an FAA ı07 license,” Ballard said. Classes in this program include constructing and operating drones and editing aerial videos gathered by such unmanned systems. “It’s one thing to know how to fly a drone and have a license,” Ballard said. “But if you don’t know how to edit the video to present a polished product to your employer, the skill’s not worth much.” The agriculture program has a horticulture certification class and two more on the horizon: one on the use of drones in precision agricultural applications, the other on small-plot farming. It’s the latter — in which students will learn how to produce crops on a small scale to supplement their incomes — that Ballard is most excited about. “I believe this is going to be bigger and more popular than aquaculture,” he said. 56

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Associate director Albert Wynn and program assistant Alexis Howard display drones like those used in a WEI program that leads to an FAA license.

WEI has set up a demonstration plot where students will learn how to produce a variety of fruits, berries and vegetables, as well as how to pond-raise catfish and tilapia, and keep bees for honey. “I call it our one-acre Eden,” Ballard said. “It will show what can be done on an acre.” The plan is for WEI eventually to partner with Wakulla County and establish a farmers market where students can sell their products. Last but not least is the conservation program, which offers a course on current environmental issues relative to human activity and climate change, with another on the way on caring for exotic animals. Meanwhile, its once-popular green guide certification program, which trained guides for the ecotourism industry, is undergoing revision. Interest in the program waned after its initial success. “I think we exhausted the demand,” Ballard said. Setbacks don’t dampen Ballard’s enthusiasm, however. He’s constantly thinking up new ideas. “I have things cooking in my brain that aren’t yet ready for prime time,” he said. Always, he adds, whatever program he conceptualizes, it must hold the promise of gainful employment for students. “I can’t have a program unless I can demonstrate financial light at the tunnel’s end.” It’s a challenge that he thoroughly enjoys. “It’s the best job I’ve had,” Ballard said. “One day I’m in the garden, the next I’m out on the oyster boat and another I’m flying drones. I’m only limited by my imagination.”

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