{"id":11460,"date":"2022-04-21T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?p=11460"},"modified":"2023-12-07T10:46:47","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:46:47","slug":"oyster-farming-and-doing-the-right-thing-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/2022-04-21\/oyster-farming-and-doing-the-right-thing-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Oyster Farming and Doing The Right Thing!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Doing the right thing!<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

We hear a lot about \u201chelping businesses\u201d and \u201ccreating jobs\u201d, but do you know what I don\u2019t hear very often?  Ready, here it is: \u201cdoing the right thing\u201d.  In our quest for prosperity we seem to have ignored, or worse accepted, the damage left in the wake of progress.   Well, I have found the intersection of “business” and “doing the right thing!” And I am happy to report that it at an oyster farm in Spring Creek, Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet the Houck\u2019s<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n
\"A
Jody Houck preparing oysters to be sent out to a client.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"A
Dewey Houck at the Cypress Point Oyster processing facility.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Dewey and Jody Houck retired and moved to Florida to be near children and grand-children. And with them they brought extensive business experience, a willingness to explore new ideas, and a desire to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d.  Jody was always interested in aquaculture, so they studied and explored oyster farming and then they wrote a business plan.  \u201cWe weren\u2019t going to start this until we had a business plan\u201d, says Jody<\/a>.  They leased water column from the state and started oyster farming.  This was the beginning of Cypress Point Oysters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old Spring Creek Restaurant<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n
\"A
Leo Lovel in front of his old property.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Many of you may remember the old Spring Creek Restaurant<\/a> owned and operated by Leo Lovel<\/a> and his family.  It was well known for its fresh, locally sourced seafood.  The restaurant closed after hurricane Michael poured four feet of seawater through it. And that wasn’t the first time the business had been flooded by a hurricane, but Leo was no longer willing to deal with the mess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serendipity!<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n
\"An
Aerial view of Cypress Point Oyster’s marina and processing facility in Spring Creek, Florida. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Dewey and Jody had been towing their oyster boat in and out of the water, daily. Plus, they had been doing all their oyster processing work out on the water.  The situation was less than ideal.  Then one day they met Leo Lovel!  Now, besides the old restaurant, Leo\u2019s property had a 12-room motel, and most importantly, a small marina that conveniently had commercial refrigeration onsite.  Serendipity!  The Lovel\u2019s and the Houck\u2019s struck a deal and the old Spring Creek property had new owners and a new oyster farming operation, Cypress Point Oysters.  Jody and Dewey quickly found that having dock space, onsite refrigeration, and power made the oyster farming much easier and efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oyster Farming Methods <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Jody and Dewey both come from corporate backgrounds that gives them an understanding of markets, processes, and how to use data.  That knowledge is incorporated into their methods. For instance, they use automated RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)<\/a> to track all their oysters from seed to delivery, and their clients have access to the information upon delivery. The operation is well organized and labor is used efficiently in order to keep injuries to a minimum.  What Jody refers to as Human Factors and Systems Engineering,<\/a> \u201cThe less you can touch something and move something around, the more efficient you become and the better protection you do for your employees.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A
Dewey Houck (left) shows WFSU Public Media’s Mike Plummer<\/em> (right) some of the RFID data they collect from their oyster farming operation. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Oyster Markets<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n
\"Three
Oysters ready for delivery to Sage Restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

They sell their oysters directly to premium restaurants throughout the southeast.   Dewey says, \u201cThese oysters are grown strictly for the half-shell market and strictly for restaurants.\u201d  And they’re raised to be consistently sized and shaped, because it\u2019s what their clients prize most.  \u201cOur objective in cultivating oysters is to have as deep a cup and as much meat in that cup as possible.  A perfect oyster for us is a ratio of 3-2-1, the height of the oyster being three, the width being two, and the depth being one.<\/a>\u201d  That ratio is achieved by tumbling the oysters periodically, as they grow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing an Oyster Farming Industry<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
\n
\"Two
Employees Conner (near) and Matt (far) sorting oysters for re-bagging before being returned to the water.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

They pay employees a good salary\u2026not hourly, not part-time, and not seasonally, so their employees always have a steady income and a steady job.  They also make their methods available to other local oyster farmers because their goal is to grow a new and lasting oyster industry in Spring Creek\u2026something more important to the area than just their own business.   <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A
Jody Houck (near) boating out to their oyster lease to reset bags of oysters with her crew Matt, Conner and Adrian (L to R).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Helping Other Oyster Farmers<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Oyster Farmer Cainnon Gregg from Pelican Oyster Company processes his oysters at the Houck’s processing facility. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The Shiny Dimes Oyster Team from The Kimball House Restaurant in Decatur, Georgia. Jesse Smith, Matt Christison and Bryan Rackley (L to R) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the day we visited Cypress Point Oysters, there were two other oyster farms on site, processing oysters.  Cainnon Gregg from Pelican Oyster Company and Bryan Rackley, Matt Christison, and Jesse Smith from Shiny Dimes Oysters.  The Houck\u2019s allow these oyster farmers to use their facility because it\u2019s good for the fledgling industry, and good for the bay.  In return, these other farmers help out Jody and Dewey and the Cypress Point team when needed.  This an example of how Jody and Dewey are trying to grow the local oyster farming industry. They’re just trying to do the right thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Doing the right thing! We hear a lot about \u201chelping businesses\u201d and \u201ccreating jobs\u201d, but do you know what I don\u2019t hear very often?  Ready, here it is: \u201cdoing the right thing\u201d.  In our quest for prosperity we seem to have ignored, or worse accepted, the damage left in the wake of progress.   Well, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[136],"tags":[917,737,1093],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOyster Farming and Doing The Right Thing! - WFSU Local Routes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How oyster farmers with Cypress Point Oysters in Spring Creek, Florida are working to do the right thing for more than just their business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/2022-04-21\/oyster-farming-and-doing-the-right-thing-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oyster Farming and Doing The Right Thing! 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