Some of these same studies indicate that many organic vegetable farmers poorly understand their costs and thus inappropriately price their produce. CSA farmers and Ostrom’s (2007) study of CSA farmers in Minnesota and Wisconsin illustrated the continuation of these trends. Tegtmeier and Duffy’s (2005) study of upper-midwestern-U.S. Similarly, a national survey of CSA farmers in 2001 found that less than half of CSA farmers were satisfied with their compensation from the farm and their ability to cover operating costs ( Lass et al., 2003). Brown and Miller’s review of research addressing farmers’ market and community-supported agriculture (CSA) economics finds substantial evidence that CSA farmers, who are mostly organic, do not earn an adequate income ( Brown and Miller, 2008). Greater availability of organic vegetables at discount grocery stores can exert downward pressure on prices of organic produce in other markets, influencing consumer purchasing decisions as price remains among the most important factors in consumer food purchases ( Lusk and Briggeman, 2009 Thilmany, 2006). Organic vegetable farmers in the upper midwestern United States and elsewhere face growing pressure to remain cost competitive and become more profitable. Fruits and vegetables are the largest component of these sales, comprising about 38% to 40% of total organic food sales and 12% of total U.S fruit and vegetable sales ( OTA, 2011).
Sales of organic food products in the United States continue to grow, reaching $3.2 billion and totaling 4% of total food sales. Keywords: budget tools farm business management pricing decision support Continued development in collaboration with farmers will improve the program and allow growers to perform analyses that enable them to set prices that more accurately reflect their respective operational costs. A farmer can define the crops grown and markets sold to tailor the information specifically for their operations. The spreadsheet uses farm-specific data regarding expenses, sales, and labor inputs in its calculations. A spreadsheet-based tool called Veggie Compass was created to assist growers in tracking their operational costs and determining crop-specific and market-specific costs of production, breakeven prices, and gross profits.
With this level of operational complexity, determination of cost of production and calculation of breakeven prices for each crop in each market channels is extremely challenging. Many organic vegetable producers are highly diversified in both crop production and marketing strategies, selling many different crops through several different market channels. Organic sales continue to increase in the United States, particularly in the category of fruits and vegetables.
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