Academic Content Standard
(Career Field Technical: Agriculture & Business Operations 3.1-3.3: High School): “Learners apply principles of economics, business management and marketing in both an entrepreneur/manager and an employee role to the leadership, planning, developing and analyzing of business enterprises related to agriculture, food and natural resources.”
(Note: Key terms used from the Ohio Career Field Technical Content Standards, September 2008.)
Discussion points
- Read the article with the students or to the students Read the article titled “Fish Farming Spreads its Fins in Ohio” in Our Ohio magazine or online.
- In what business is Dr. David Smith an expert?
- According to the article, what is his educational background? How many years did Dr. Smith dedicate to his education in order to run a successful business?
- Why did it make good business sense to operate the fish farm in Urbana, Ohio? (Proximity to customers, opportunity to purchase land/buildings)
- According to the article, Dr. Dave’s goal was to raise fish economically. Did he achieve that goal? Explain.
- How did Dr. Dave “research product and service designs, and determine the technical feasibility of new products” for his aquaculture business?
- Would you agree that Dr. Dave’s market research, pricing and distribution plans were successful given the data shared in the article?
- How does the owner diversify his products for customer satisfaction?
What other things does he sell? - The article states that Freshwater Farms started selling wholesale to restaurants. Now the company is 100% retail. Please explain what this means.
- Does the company make more profit selling wholesale or retail?
- Another aspect of this business is agritourism. Please explain what this is and how it diversifies the business at Freshwater Farms.
- What festival does this business host that brings more customers to the farm? (Could this be defined as public relations?)
- What data does this article share that support the statement by the president of Fish Farmers of Ohio Association, “I believe the industry will grow by leaps and bounds.”
- What economics concept is “driving the expansion of fish farming?”
- What business plan or plan of action does Shawn McWhorter promote for starting up an aquaculture business?
- Explain the concept of sustainability. Why is that important when it comes to producing and selling a product?
- What practices are incorporated by Smith to make his business sustainable?
- Could this be part of a continuous-improvement management system?
- What type of business relationships must the owners of Freshwater Farms develop? (ex. buying fish from other area fish farms)
- What entrepreneurial effort did Smith have to abandon? Explain what happened.
- Given the change in price of fishmeal, would the profitability of the grain-based fish food increase now?
- The final paragraph of the article summarizes benefits and positive aspects of fish farming. Is this a business you would be interested in pursuing?
Hands on at Home or School
- Watch a video of Freshwater Farms of Ohio on YouTube.
- Visit the Freshwater Farms of Ohio website.
- Take a tour.
- Look up what they sell.
- What special services do they provide?
- What events attract customers?
- What is appealing about the product they sell?
- Is their website a good marketing tool? Explain.
- Visit the Ohio Aquaculture Association.
Geography:
- Using a map of Ohio located at the Ohio Department of Transportation, or your own map.
- Find Urbana, Ohio.
Web Research
- Research different varieties of freshwater fish that are sold at Freshwater Farms of Ohio. Find information about:
- What the fish looks like.
- What the fish is used for.
- How much money the fish might cost per pound.
- Rainbow Trout
- Largemouth bass
- Yellow perch
- Bluegill
- Channel catfish
- Fathead minnows
- Goldfish
- Koi
This student activity was prepared by Camille Kopczewski, who is coordinator of religious education at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Grove City. She is a former sixth grade social studies teacher for South-Western City Schools. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in education.