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

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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] How do you determine market/wholesale price?
  • Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:59:01 -0400


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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