Market Farming

["Beth Spaugh" <lists AT rhomestead.com>]

There are levels with different pay scales. If you are making the decisions
- what to plant, how to do it, where to get materials - then you are in a
"management" role. If you are taking directions from someone else, then you
are labor. The pay scale also depends somewhat on college degrees. 

So, if they hand you the project and you run with it, with you can figure
the planning time at at least $20/hour. But, since you could hire someone to
do the grunt work, probably figure on paying yourself $10/hour for grant
time. To those add in social security, mileage, etc. So, maybe figure you
time (when I was writing grants I would figure out how much time I thought
it would take and then double it), then tack on 50% for SS, etc.

Beth Spaugh
Rehoboth Homestead
Peru NY
http://rhomestead.com

"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used."  -
Wendell Berry

"Without power over our food, any notion of democracy is empty." - Francis
Moore Lappe

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of
tonitime AT juno.com
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2008 1:10 PM
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Cc: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [Market-farming] Advice on small contract w/ Extension


I hope some of you can help me think through this opportunity!
The county next to mine  has a good extension office, and personnel that
care and are  wanting me to build, plant, and maintain a raised-bed
demonstration area for home gardeners.after polling the citizens to see what
they want their extension to do for them - this was what the people asked
for.
They are glad to be encouraging more people to grow vegies at home, as not
much is offered in stores anywhere around here.  I am having a hard time
figuring out how to give them a price for my work that is fair all around!
I would be constructing one long raised bed (wooden-sides,  seat top), a
demo composting setup, filling this big box-bed with bagged ammendments, and
seasonal plantings (that i will provide from my own seed and starts), and
maintain maybe once a week until frost time.  It is alot of work, and they
are located about 40 minutes from our farm ( everything is 30-40 minutes or
more from where we live!). Materials aside, i can't figure out how to charge
for my time.  I often do seed-saving and heirloom classes, gardening, and
processing info sessions on my own, w/0 pay.........for community service
and good will - but need to accept their payment for a project like this
one.
I am doing this because i really believe that more citizens need to get
involved in their own growing at home in these harder times.  We live in an
area where people have never had good shopping anywhere nearby, and their
farms used to sustain community only a generation or two in the past.  It is
a poor county, and many cannot afford the fresh food prices in the local
markets anymore, but do have space to grow at least some, if not most of
their foods - like their ancestors did.
  
As my own life and farm keep me so busy, i need help to figure what my time
is worth on such as this.  If this question is out of line here, i
understand that........but know that several here are not only involved with
their markets - but with local foods and education, too.  If you care to
respond, or help me ask the right questions in my next meeting - please feel
free to write me offlist at:
tonitime AT gardener.com
 Community service is an important thing to us, and i do not want to say no
to this aspect, when some people are getting needier here and everywhere.
Thanks for your time, if you have extra!
Toni in E KY
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