Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["mcoldiron" <mcoldiron@crcom.net>]

I pick 5 bushels a day.  That's $6300 a month times 3 months.  There's not 
really any weeding with black eyes.  Preparing the soil is done along with 
everything else.  Maybe 10 minutes to break up the land, which isn't done 
every year, another 10 to row it up, and another 10 min. to plant. I might 
run a set of sweeps down the rows once or twice  a year for weeds, but 
that's done at the same time every thing else is done.  Takes maybe 10 
minutes each time to weed the peas.  I don't pick the hole thing at one 
time, just enough to get the 5 bushels each day.  Labor is about 20 minutes 
per bushel to pick.    Guess you could add another 20 min. as the pea's 
share for attaching the equipment and the like.  Fuel, I'd guess $15 yearly 
total for pea's share.    About 15 min. a bushel to shell and bag, but I 
only shell 3 or 4 bushels a week the rest is sold as is.  Distance to the 
field is zero.  Taking to market and selling is difficult to figure.  For 
the pea's share I'd guess $1 a week for gas and 15 min. a week for selling 
time.  Did I miss anything?  Looks like a good profit to me.  I didn't add 
everything up, but I don't think it comes anywhere near the $6300 a month I 
bring in, even if I miss a few things.  Sounds like you don't like to grow 
black eyed peas.  To me blue lake beans, Kentucky wonders, and pintos are 
the worst for amount of  labor.  At least my back has told me so!! :)  I'd 
choose squash, okra, cantaloupe, and watermelon as the money makers.

TxBeeFarmer (Mark)
West Texas Zone 7b


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 2:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] No-till planting


> I was trying to get you to do the math.
>
> You're picking 3/4 acre to get four or five bushels, which can sell for 
> $45 per bushel, more in smaller quantites. Say $300 gross from picking 3/4 
> acre. How much do you spend getting to the point of harvest? Subtract that 
> from your gross. That's your profit.  How many hours do you spend 
> preparing the soil, cultivating or weeding, picking, shelling, and selling 
> (just for black eyed peas)? Divide profit by total hours.
>
> If you're picking and selling that much every day then you're paying a lot 
> of labor, which is a cost not figured in yet.
>
> If you're growing other crops, do the same for each crop, allocating a 
> realistic amount of costs and labor to each crop. That's cost accounting. 
> I strongly suspect a lot of market growers don't know if they're breaking 
> even or not, much less making a profit. I bring this up because people 
> think market growing is just too much work. And the way most people do it, 
> IT IS. Until they learn some cost accounting and find intensive methods 
> right for their climate, they won't be driving new pickup trucks and 
> nobody else will want to grow for market. But we need a million more 
> growers for food security.
>
> Why don't you experiment on a smaller area, keep records, and report back 
> to us?
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 7/5/2008 at 1:57 PM mcoldiron wrote:
>
> > Not sure what you are trying to say.  I sell my shelled peas for $5 a
> > quart.bag.  The bushel goes for about $45 and I get $1.50 a pound for
> > less.
> > Don't you think that's a lot more than it cost to plant and pick it?
> >
> > TxBeeFarmer (Mark)
> > West Texas Zone 7b
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
> > To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 1:42 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] No-till planting
> >
> >
> > > Black eyed peas for market? Let's see. Subtract the costs just for black
> > > eyed peas from the gross income from just that crop. Divide that by the
> > > total number of hours you spend growing, picking, shelling and selling
> > > them. That's what you're paying yourself to grow black eyed peas. Is it
> > > more than 10 cents an hour?
> > >
> > > paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> > >
> > > *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
> > >
> > > On 7/5/2008 at 1:25 PM mcoldiron wrote:
> > >
> > > > I'm pretty sure I know how to modify my buster planter to a no till
> > > > planter.  So let's take black eyed peas, for example.  I usually pick 4
> > or
> > > > 5 bushels a day for market.  It usually takes a week or so for the peas
> > to
> > > > grow again, so I pick different rows each day.  I plant enough so I'm
> > > > starting over at first set of rows at the beginning of the next week. I
> > > > sell them shelled or by the bushel.  I know black eyed peas will grow
> > here
> > > > without irrigation.  If I use your method of no till and grow a cover
> > crop
> > > > for mulch for next year, should I plant fewer rows of peas to get my 4 
> > > > or
> > > > 5 bushels a day?  The last time I planted peas, it took about 3/4 of an
> > > > acre to get my daily quota.
> > > >
> > > > Thanks
> > > > TxBeeFarmer (Mark)
> > > > West Texas Zone 7b
>
>
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