Bill Evans. and Forestry Experiment Station Truck Crops Branch

Transcription

1 Economics of High Tunnel Production Bill Evans Mississippi i i i Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station Truck Crops Branch wbe@ra.nospam.msstate.edu

2 High Tunnels/Hoop Houses Usually unheated greenhouses with passive ventilation Kit or home built $1 - $4 per sq. ft. Intended for season extension and moderate frost protection ti

3 Generalities Hobby vs. vocation Planning Record keeping Nine out of ten new growers won t be growing 5 years after they come into my office! What? How can he say that? Farms need at least three employees! What? How can he say that?

4 Generalities Costs Fixed don t change with activities and must be accounted for even if you sit on the porch Variable result from activities and change (vary) all the time and with each season

5 A few Fixed Costs Land Has value in time and space Insurance The Tunnels Tractors, truck payments, etc. Buildings, sheds

6 A Few Variable Costs Labor Seeds Fuels Fertilizers Water Electricity Boxes, crates

7 Salaries and Wages Make sure your budgets include a proper p wage and return for you and other owners Wages vary based on activities, yields, etc. Remember to budget for benefits and labor management (accounting etc.) someplace in your farm plan

8 Farm Plan? What s that? Spend some evenings writing a farm plan and/or a business plan Use this as a guide for your endeavors Where do you want the business to be in one year, five years? How do the tunnels fit into that system? Tunnel economics would be part of the overall farm/business plan (bankers love plans!)

9 Gu, et al., 2010

10 Aesop.Rutgers.edu/~horteng

11

12

13

14

15 High Tunnel Construction Costs Tunnel Kit Ground posts/foundation Frame Doors Glazing/cover Hardware

16 High Tunnel Construction Costs Site Prep Dirt work Tree work Drainage Irrigation

17 High Tunnel Construction Costs Tunnel Construction Farm family vs. Paid workers Tools Cordless drills and drivers Post driver Lift and or ladders Supplies Additional hardware Wood for rails and door frames

18 High Tunnel Construction Costs After Construction Seeds and planting stock Planting equipment and supplies Irrigation and fertigation supplies Sprayers, hand tools,. Harvest buckets and bins Repair tape

19 Aesop.Rutgers.edu/~horteng Site prep

20

21

22 Aesop.Rutgers.edu/~horteng Stakes, mulch, sprays, cooling, weeding

23 Opening and closing, heat

24 Production and Returns To win in high tunnels: Think like a greenhouse grower Manage for profit, not just yield Time is money in a structure that costs over $43,000 per acre per year to build and maintain Empty space could be money lost. It needs to be accounted for in the budget

25 Thinking like a Greenhouse Grower These days, I think in: DOLLARS/SQUARE FOOT/DAY

26 Economics of Crop Mixes Not every crop is going to be the biggest revenue producer Just because a crop is expensive to grow does not mean it is the least profitable Just because a crop is cheap to grow does not mean it is the most profitable

27 Hypothetical Gross Returns Crop Lettuce Collards Tomatoes Summer Squash Basil Zinnias Spacing 10 X 10 in (0.7 sf) 18 X 18 in. (2.25 sf) 18 X 48 in (6.0 sf) 24 X 48 in. (8.0 sf) 12 X 12 in. (1.0 sf) 6 X 6 in. (0.25 sf) Value/ Value/ Value/ Days in Value/day/ plant sf tunnel tunnel tunnel ,543-10, ,056-2, ,000-7, ,800-3, ,600-6, ,600-38, Assumes a 2000 sf tunnel, 1200 sf (60%) space utilization, direct high end markets

28 Marketing Don t start to grow if you don t know where you are going to sell and that you have reasonable expectations of selling your crop Direct, retail Indirect, wholesale On farm, farmers markets, restaurants, fruit stands, supermarkets, caterers Value added: processed, bundled, pesticide free, local Example: farms south of Hope

29 Resources MSUCARES.COM/crops/hightunnels The MSU Budget Generator Hightunnels.org Attra.org UARK/OSU Horticulture Industries Show

30 This project was supported by the Agricultural Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant # Additional support for this presentation has come from the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Specialty Crops Block Grant Program, and my hosts today, the University of Arkansas and Arkansas Extension.