[Market-farming] Pricing: broccoli & cabbage

John Ferree john at seldomseenfarm.com
Fri Jun 12 05:40:23 EDT 2009


cabbage does seem like a lose-lose game. . . nobody wants to pay for it,
and many people have forgotten how to use it.  we switched to high
density cabbage plantings, looking for smaller heads. . . so that we can
keep our price the same (higher than grocery) and mask it a little
better with a smaller head.  (johnnys, high mowing are promoting this,
and have varities for it). 

2.5/# / 3.50/head seems to be common for the few broccoli growers in
central IN.  3.5/head <= 8" heads.  We bump up in the fall when we have
10"+ heads. 

Bill, why not set a price you'll accept for a standard space?  our beds
are 1k sf.  I target at least 750 out of each of those beds and use
yield/planting density to rough in market price.  It's not hard and
fast, but gives us a guide for new crops and evaluating old ones.

John


BillOhio wrote:
> Around here, cabbage seems to be something folks expect you to have,
> but don't expect to pay enough for to make it worth growing. It takes
> a lot of room, compared say to lettuce, and whereas I can pick a
> square foot of lettuce for 6-7 weeks early on, I get one head of
> cabbage from the same space. I get maybe 5-6 gallons of lettuce @
> $4.50 a gallon bag vs. maybe 2 bucks for the head of cabbage.
> Bill Huhman
> central Ohio
>
> On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 7:58 PM, Sue Wells <farmersue at myfairpoint.net
> <mailto:farmersue at myfairpoint.net>> wrote:
>
>     Last year, I charged $5/lb for broccoli. I know that sounds very
>     expensive,
>     but it doesn't weight much, and is a lot of work, and I usually
>     sold all of
>     it.
>     I don't know what to charge for cabbage, I had a very hard time
>     selling it
>     last year, and finally sold it for $2/head. It still didn't sell well.
>
>     SUE
>     Vermont
>
>
>
>
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