Profitability of NEON Focal Crops on 3 Organic Farms in

New England

Kim Stoner

CT Agricultural Experiment Station

March 2005

Professional Development Program in Organic Agriculture

Kestrel Farm

Westminster, Vermont

Upper Forty Farm

Cromwell, Connecticut

FOCAL

FARMS

New Leaf Farm,

Durham, Maine

Kestrel FarmWestminster, VermontKestrel Farm

Westminster, Vermont

ParsnipsParsnips

Shared Equipment 2

Winter Squash FieldWinter Squash Field

Cost Allocation, Kestrel farm

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Parsnip2002

Parsnip2003

WinterSquash

2002

WinterSquash

2003

$/ac

re

Marketing

Labor

Inputs

Overhead Costs

Labor Allocation, Kestrel Farm

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Parsnip2002

Parsnip2003

WinterSquash

2002

WinterSquash

2003

$/ac

re

Harvest and Packing

Plant Establishment andMaintenance

Field Preparation andClean-up

Break-even Analysis, Kestrel Farm, 2002-2003.

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000

yield (lbs/acre)

pri

ce (

$/lb

) Parsnip 2002

Winter Squash 2002

Winter Squash andParsnip 2003 (Costs of productionwere almost equal)

Revenues for Parsnips and Winter Squash at Kestrel Farm, 2002-2003.

$3,021

$4,599

$3,587

$6,139

Profit per acre

$6,318

$8,990

$6,882

$11,776

Revenue

$3,297

$4,391

$3,295

$5,637

Total Cost of

Production per acre

$0.3319,0002003

$0.4022,4002002

Butternut squash

$1.006,8822003

$0.8513,8302002

Parsnip

Average price per

lb.Amount Sold (lbs. per acre)YearCrop

NEW LEAF FARMDave and Christine Colson

New Leaf Farm

Durham, Maine

Salad Mix and Separately Sold Greens

Arugula Giant Red Mustard

Tatsoi

Also, Salad Bowl lettuces, Mizuna and Kale

Overall cost allocation for focal crops at New Leaf Farm, 2002-2003.

New Leaf Cost Allocation

05000

10000150002000025000

$/a

cre

Inputs

Labor

Marketing

Overhead Costs

Break-Even Analysis, New Leaf Farm focal crops, 2002-2003. Costs are averaged over the two years.

Break-even Analysis

0

1

2

3

4

5

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000

Yield (lb/acre)

Pri

ce

($

/lb)

Asian Gr

Tomato

Winter Sq

Revenues for Salad Greens, Tomatoes, and Winter Squash at New Leaf Farm, 2002-2003. Note that we do not have an enterprise budget for the lettuce, which composes one-half of the salad mix.

$46,200$16,300$62,500$7.508,400 (NEON sampled yield)

2003

$20,400$15,800$30,800

$5,400$7.45 for mix

$4.50 for 2nd

harvest

4,100 mix

1,200 2nd harvest2002

Salad greens

-$600

-$1,000

$38,700

$45,000

Profit per acre

$11,300

$11,500

$59,700

$63,900

Revenue

$11,900

$12,500

$22,100

$18,900

Total Cost of Production

per acre

$0.7515,100 (NEON sampled yield)

2003

$0.6916,6002002

Winter squash

$2.2027, 100 (based on 703lbs.)

2003

$2.5724,9002002

Tomato

Average price per lb.

Amount Sold (lbs. per acre)YearCrop

• Upper Forty FarmCromwell, Connecticut

Upper Forty FarmCromwell, ConnecticutUpper Forty Farm

Cromwell, Connecticut

Large Diversity of otherwise unavailable heirloom varieties

Cost Allocation, Upper 40 Farm

05000

1000015000200002500030000

String

Bean

200

2

String

Bean

200

3

Wint

er S

quash

2002

Wint

er S

quash

2003

Tomat

o 20

02

Tomat

o 20

03

$/ac

re

Marketing

Labor

Inputs

Overhead Costs

Labor Allocation, Upper 40 Farm

02000400060008000

1000012000140001600018000

String

Bean

200

2

String

Bean

200

3

Wint

er S

quash

2002

Wint

er S

quash

2003

Tomat

o 20

02

Tomat

o 20

03

$/ac

re

Harvest and Packing

Plant Establishment andMaintenance

Field Preparation andClean-up

Break-even Analysis, Upper Forty Farm, 2002-2003.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000

Yield (lb/acre)

Pri

ce(

$/lb

)

String Bean

Tomato

Winter Squash

Revenues for Snap Bean, Butternut Squash, and Tomato at Upper Forty Farm, 2002-2003.

$90,500$28,600$119,000$2.5047,6002002

Tomato$44,400$14,300$58,700$3.0019,6002003

$700

-$3,900

$6,500

$23,300

Profit per acre

$12,400

$11,800

$21,000

$38,500

Revenue

$11,700

$15,700

$14,500

$15,200

Total Cost of

Production per acre

$1.259,9002003

$1.0011,800 (NEON sampled yield)

2002

Butternut squash

$6.003,5002003

$5.007,7002002

Snap bean

Average price per

lb.Amount Sold (lbs. per acre)YearCrop