[Market-farming] How do you determine market/wholesale price?

Road's End Farm organic87 at frontiernet.net
Tue Mar 31 10:59:01 EDT 2009


On Mar 31, 2009, at 12:40 AM, Marcy wrote:

> This list is a great place to ask if you've got something different 
> that you
> haven't sold and others around aren't selling.

This is true. Thanks, all!

When trying to determine market prices, don't only check the wholesale 
listings. You're not selling wholesale at market, you're selling 
retail; you're doing the job, not only of the grower, but of the 
produce manager, the people who package the produce, the stock clerk, 
the checkout clerk, etc. Check also the retail prices in your general 
area. Note that they may vary widely within as little as an hour's 
drive, depending on market area and also on packaging -- I've seen 
potato prices *at the same store* ranging from ten cents a pound to 
over a dollar a pound, depending not only on the size of package but 
also on the package presentation as well as variety of potato.

If you have genuinely better quality, and/or other advantages to the 
purchaser such as, for instance, a willingness to deliver split cases 
and small lots or specific desired mixes in a pack, then don't price 
your stuff (even your wholesale pricing) according to the lowest 
possible wholesale price. That's not the product you're delivering, and 
it's not the price you should get. (If that is the product you're 
delivering, of course, then you'll have to compete on that basis. But 
the small grower can rarely compete with the big guys on price and stay 
in business; it's usually much easier to compete with them on some 
other measure of quality.)

Bear in mind also what your own costs are. These can be really hard to 
figure for the person growing a little bit each of dozens of crops, but 
try to have a general idea.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale
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