[Market-farming] Lettuce price?

Richard Stewart rstewart at zoomtown.com
Thu Jul 2 10:52:07 EDT 2009


Can you sell to restaurants?

Just curious.  I sell to restaurants in the Cincinnati area and I  
would much rather do that than sell at a market.  Yes, you can command  
higher prices at market, but you loose money at a market.  I want to  
focus on growing and raising a crop not 10 hours a week trying to push  
those same goods.

I sell lettuce for 2.50 a pound to restaurants.  No rinsing (other  
than a quick dip into cold well water to help preserve the harvest).   
The restaurants want the tap root and all, which adds to the weight.   
They also pick-up or meet me at one of the two markets I sell at.  I  
never have anything  left over, I make more money than when I sell it  
for 4.50 a bag weighing around .45 pounds (rinsing and bagging is a  
big cost, regardless of how you do it).

I've also spent a great deal of time with an online presence,  
participating in local food events, and cultivating a transparent  
operation that tries to detail anything I do.  If a restaurant decides  
to use my food it is a value added thing.  I cross promote those that  
do and they gain customers that want to "follow the food".  This  
autumn I will be meeting with several chefs and restaurants to  
actually plan for 2010 rather than just purchase what I happen to be  
selling at market.

Markets are great and I have one that I am especially fond of, but  
they cost me money in the long run.  Right now I think of them more as  
advertisements and promotions than an economical way to sell produce.   
That is simply my region others will certainly have better experiences  
with markets for certain.

There are so few growers in the region that are not growing corn and  
soybean that, for the time being, single large organic crops are far  
more valuable per acre than anything else.  No one is spending the  
time relearning skills and actually farming so they keep doing the  
same thing.  If you grow an acre of potatoes and a ton of lettuce it  
has plenty of buyers and at a premium price.

If you do not see an opportunity available right now, make one.  Get  
crafty and over winter plan and scheme.  Take advantage f the lull and  
do as much reading, research, and learning as possible.  It takes a  
couple years to get going, even if you have the land and experience.

I wish you the best of luck.

Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855

(513) 967-1106
http://www.carriagehousefarmllc.com
rstewart at zoomtown.com
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