Business

In order to be economically viable, vegetable and small fruit growers must be good business people. Growers utilize a variety of markets in New York, including retail farm stands and farmers' markets, wholesale markets and produce auctions. Sales of produce continue to increase and expand in New York as growers create new markets for their product. Recent expansions have included more sales directly into New York City and year-round farmers' markets.
Growers must also pay close attention to the costs of doing business on the farm. As costs of inputs such as fuel and fertilizers continue to increase, growers must find new ways to increase efficiency and help consumers understand the value of their products. By keeping costs under control and selling product at a fair price, growers are able to expand the industry in New York.
BUSINESS CATEGORIES
Video Series: Essentials of Food Safety for Farmworkers

We all know that farm employees have many crucial roles on the farm, including carrying out food safety policies and practices. However, their ability to do that effectively, depends heavily on the quality of the training they receive. To meet the growing need for online, easily accessible resources, Robert Hadad and Caitlin Tucker have designed "Essentials of Food Safety for Farmworkers", a 5-part video series that covers many of the required worker training topics set forth by FSMA (the Food Safety Modernization Act), or other 3rd party auditing programs.
Growing for Wholesale: Grading and Packing Guidelines by Crop

Grading and packing guidelines are now available for 18 commonly grown specialty crops in NYS: romaine lettuce, acorn squash, broccoli crowns, Brussels sprouts, sweet corn, green peppers, cucumbers, green cabbage, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, green beans, jalapenos, poblanos, Hungarian hot peppers, summer squash, and zucchini.
What's Up with Wholesaling?
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
This is one of two narrated PowerPoint presentations investigating farmers experience with and attitudes towards wholesaling. The project, Assessing Barriers to Wholesaling for Small-Scale Produce Growers: Case Study, ran from 2016-2018. We investigated how some produce growers have fared well with wholesaling and how they got started; while others have been stumbling and have misconceptions about what makes wholesaling successful. A farmer survey was developed and results of the 199 survey respondents are presented in this presentation.
Wholesale Barriers: Case Studies Overview
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program
This is the second of two narrated PowerPoint presentations providing further findings from a USDA-AMA funded project, Assessing Barriers to Wholesaling for Small-Scale Produce Growers: Case Study. In this presentation, we provide more information found by diving deeper into the barriers of wholesaling for New York produce growers. The previous video provided information on a large grower survey whereas this video provides more in-depth findings from 8 individual farms selected from 3 focus groups. The farms agreed to provide more details about their marketing experiences, issues, and/or needs. These 8 farms became our 8 case studies; some of the case study farms had wholesaling experience while other farms had no wholesaling experience but were considering moving into that market.
NYS Produce Auctions Locations and Contact Information
Judson Reid, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

Produce auctions in New York State have been formed so that produce growers have a way of marketing their product to quality minded buyers through open competitive bidding. A map of produce auction locations across the state is provided along with auction days, times, and contact information.
Guide on How to Purchase at the NYS Produce Auctions
Judson Reid, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

A produce auction is a wholesale market for regionally grown produce. Currently there are eight produce auctions in New York State offering a wide variety of produce at competitive prices. This guide will provide basic information on the terminology of the auction, as well as how to purchase produce at these unique markets.
Video: New York State Produce Auctions

Currently, there are 8 produce auctions in New York State. These auctions are aggregation points that allow local farmers to sell their produce in wholesale lots to buyers from across the region. To document the economic impact of produce auctions on agriculture, local businesses, family farms, and produce buyers, the Cornell Vegetable Program worked with Harvest New York to survey top sellers and buyers.
A new Cornell Vegetable Program video shares general information about produce auctions, how buyers and sellers use the auctions to expand their businesses, and how local communities benefit from them.
Growing for Wholesale: Vegetable Grading/Sizing Templates
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

To further assist farmers looking to sell into the wholesale markets, the Cornell Vegetable Program has put together some helpful tools. The tools provided here consist of a color photo guide highlighting the grades of some of the most common vegetables grown for wholesale market in WNY. To aid in the visualization of the grading sizes, the templates are available here for you to print off. These are scaled to size and can be used to create sizing templates to be used by workers on the wash and pack lines.
Cornell Small Farms Program: Aiding in Small Farm Business Development

The Cornell Small Farms Program helps farmers get expert assistance to facilitate all phases of small farm development, from initial growth to optimization to maturity. Online courses are available for aspiring, new, and experienced farmers through the Northeast Beginning Farmers Project. Sign up to receive the Small Find Farms E-newsletter to find out about resources, events, career opportunities and funding opportunities.
Farmers Markets in the Finger Lakes Region
Angela Ochterski, Administrative Assistant
Cornell Vegetable Program

There are over 70 farmers markets in the Cornell Vegetable Program counties. Find lists of markets in our region.
Collaborative Marketing for Small Farms

Collaborative marketing is a realistic solution for small- to mid-size farms that are seeking access to larger markets, but are unable to individually serve such accounts. In collaborative marketing, several like-minded producers join together formally to market and distribute farm products, but not necessarily under the governance or control of a cooperative.
Generally, small farms should consider temporary, limited-scale collaborative projects before developing substantial business agreements. Such arrangements can be a simple as consignment sales, or as complex as a corporation dedicated to marketing and distribution.


Upcoming Events
Managing Soil Nitrogen in Winter High Tunnels
March 5, 2021
To meet the year-round demand for locally produced food, vegetable farmers have embraced protected agriculture to extend their growing season, improve yields, and enhance crop quality. However, a statewide survey found that after several growing seasons, farmers struggle to maintain productivity due to challenges in long term soil health and fertility management. Cornell Cooperative Extension is exploring practices that high tunnel growers can adopt to better manage soil fertility and improve soil health.
Grab your lunch and join us for a virtual conversation on Friday, March 5, 2021 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm to hear our project updates and research results.
Assess and Prevent Food Safety Risks in Leafy Greens Production
March 18, 2021
This training will provide an overview of possible sources of contamination related to soil amendments, wildlife, water, post-harvest handling, transportation and more. This training will emphasize specific risks that leafy greens growers may experience, identify tangible corrective actions that can be taken, and provide participants the opportunity to work through example scenarios as a group.
2021 NYS Dry Bean Meeting

March 19, 2021
Join the us for the annual Dry Bean Meeting! There will be presentations covering the latest research in NY dry beans. Topic areas include market updates, white mold management, Western bean cutworm and soybean cyst nematode management, herbicide resistance management, dry bean variety testing, and incorporating NY dry beans into schools. This meeting is sponsored by Genesee Valley Bean Company, and Bayer CropScience.