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 In nearby Mason county, the
sandy soils and low bottom grounds are difficult for traditional
farming practices but idea for melons. On the higher ground fields
of sweet corn with nearby roadside produce stands are common. Just
to the north and west in the vicinities of Morton and Tremont all
the way to just south of East Peoria, fields of pumpkins are just as
common, if not more, than corn.
So why does Logan county appear outwardly at least to be “vegetable
barren?” There may be a number of reasons.
While vegetable crops are proven to show huge gross sales dollars,
the cost of production is also very high and labor intensive.
Because of this, vegetable production may be a small farm venture,
and in Logan county there are fewer small farms. However, for the
small farm, less than 400 to 500 acres, vegetables could be a big
money maker, a resource for keeping the family farm intact and young
people on the farm.
We have reached an era in our history when fresh foods, fewer
chemicals and additives, and less processing is becoming important
to the consumer. While some will shop exclusively organic, others
are simply looking for fresh as opposed to canned or frozen. The
trend toward shopping farmer’s markets or joining fresh food
cooperatives is increasing. In the grocery stores, consumers are
demanding to know where their food was made, and it is now required
that produce be sold with a label clearing stating the country of
origin.
Savvy, health conscience shoppers are figuring it all out. That
tomato that was picked in South America, shipped to a terminal, then
sold to a grocery distributor and finally arriving in the store
looking perfect for eating, has probably been in route a week or
two, and was probably picked green.
Producers have learned many tricks of the trade to deliver a product
that is ‘ripened’ with chemicals as they travel to their final
destination. Savvy shoppers know this and are steering away from
foreign produce because they know it is isn’t really fresh and it
isn’t really natural.
Because consumers are becoming more informed and more conscious
about what they put on their tables, there is a growing demand for
fresh foods that are locally grown. For the small family farms in
Logan County, this is a good trend and it may be time to take
advantage of it.
The demand is growing, and there are more markets available for the
fresh, locally grown foods. For example, the boutique grocery is
growing in popularity and there are local grown grocers as close by
as Bloomington, and a new local grown grocer coming to Mount Pulaski
early next year. The success of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial
Hospital Market in the summer is another testament to the demand as
shoppers flock to the market each Saturday throughout the summer.
There they can buy not just produce that is locally grown but also
prepared foods such as breads that are locally made. There are also
sources for fresh, locally grown meats at the market.
For people like Michelle Bauer, who was recently interviewed with
her mother for a story about breast cancer, the locally grown
products are becoming more important than ever to her family. She
noted that her family purchases most all their beef products from
Toohill Farm in Mount Pulaski because they want to know what they
are buying and who they are buying it from.
When one can’t pronounce the words in the ingredient list on a can
of green beans, Bauer feels that is cause for concern, and she wants
her family to avoid those chemicals whenever possible.
Many people feel the same way, so buying fresh local is going to be
a trend that will probably continue to grow.
But is it a viable option on the production side? If you look at the
gross figures, they are eye-popping. One acre of land has the
potential to produce 12,000 ears of sweetcorn. According to Texas A
& M AgriLife Extension’s report on Small Acreage Horticultural
Crops, the cost of growing sweetcorn is about $1,000 per acre up to
harvest, with additional costs incurred based on how it will be
sold. Selling in bulk or by the ear at a market stand on the farm is
going to be the least expensive with overhead costs being the cost
of the stand itself and labor to man it. Crating and shipping to
retail outlets is going to add to the cost for the containers and
labor to pack and deliver the product. Sweet corn can be machine
harvested, which cuts down on labor costs compared to other
vegetable crops.
The bottom line comes out with an estimated profitability of $1,200
per acre maximum. Using the Texas A&M math, a small farm can clear
as much as $30,000 on a 25 acre plot of sweetcorn.
The Texas A&M also has figures
on growing tomatoes. For whole sale production, the report estimates
that five acres of tomato plants will suffice. With five acres, the
net profit would amount to up to $2,000 per acre.
The University of Tennessee in
2015 did an extensive study of production costs for tomatoes that
appears to be spot on. It covers everything from plant costs to
hired labor utilizing a 100 plant field that yields 700 pounds of
fruit.
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The report assumes 700 pounds
per 100 plant plot at $2.00 per pound. The gross revenue then is
$1,400. The report covers all costs from plant costs to fertilizer,
herbicides, pesticides, fungicides (necessary for tomato
production), hired labor, land cost, and more. The report also
includes marketing costs for farmers markets. The bottom line, the
report estimates total cost at $1,135.89 and net profit at $264.11
per 100 plants.
The draw back on this report is that it assumes the grower is going
to self-market, thus the $2.00 per pound gross revenue. When selling
to a terminal or directly to a retailer, the grower cannot expect to
get that kind of return. At $1.35 per pound the figures change to
$945.00 per 100 plants. However, not all of the marketing costs will
be figured into selling at a farm market. Take out the Annual Fee
($10), the Booth Fee ($73) and the hired labor to man the booth
($266.67) and reduce the net costs by $349.67. That brings net costs
down from $1,135.89 to $786.22 and brings net profitability to
$158.78 per 100 plant plot.
The universities of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio have put together an excellent, 240
page guide to growing vegetables.
Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers
https://ag.purdue. edu/btny/midwest-vegetableguide/
Documents/2019/ID-56-W%202019.pdf
The book covers in detail soil nutrient needs, herbicide needs and
pest control. What it doesn’t cover is cost per acre of production.
However, the last two-thirds of the book gives detailed information
on specific vegetable crops from asparagus to squash to watermelon.
The guide also provides contact information for a huge variety of
university specialists including phone numbers and email addresses.
Another document published by the Land Stewardship Project in
September 2013 gives estimated figures on labor and cost.
Alternative & Specialty Crops for growers in the Midwest
https://misadocuments. info/AlternativeandSpecialtyCrops.pdf
According to that document, the average labor in hours per acre for
vegetable crops is 220 hours per acre. The average total cost per
acre is $5,000. At the same time, the report gives costs for some
specific crops such as tomatoes and reports the cost per acre at
$6,722.
Green beans can also be big earners for the small farm. It is
estimated that green snap and wax beans can yield up to 300 bushel
per acre. This equates to about 9,000 pounds per acre. With an
estimated wholesale price of $0.87 per pound, the gross revenue can
be as much as $7,830 per acre.
Obviously there are risks that cannot be estimated or given a dollar
value until they happen, such as drought and flooding resulting in
crop loss, pests and in some of these vegetable crops in particular
mold and fungus. So while no one is probably going to get rich
growing produce, it is a viable alternative for the small family
farm. It also has value to the health conscientious younger
generation of kids growing up on the farm. With marketing options
becoming more available in the region, these young farmers may find
that horticulture is the new wave of agriculture in Logan County.
Additional resources:
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu. edu/ small
acreage/crops-guides/vegtables/
https://aggiehorticulture.tamu.edu/small
acreage/crops-guides/vegtables/sweet-corn/
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/small
acreage/crops-guides/vegtables/tomatoes/
Sample Budget for Small-Scale Commercial Tomato Operations - 2015
https://ag.tennessee.edu/arec/Documents
/budgets/tomato/SampleBudgetforSmall
ScaleCommercialTomatoOperations2015.pdf
Find terminal prices by commodity at the USDA website
https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/fruits-vegetables
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