Business

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
Relevant Events
2020 Finger Lakes Produce Auction Education Meeting

January 2, 2020
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Penn Yan, NY
2020 Empire State Producers EXPO

January 14 - January 16, 2020
1.25 hr sessions throughout each day
Syracuse, NY
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.
More Business Content
Guide on How to Purchase at the NYS Produce Auctions
Video: New York State Produce Auctions
Growing for Wholesale: Vegetable Grading/Sizing Templates
Cornell Small Farms Program: Aiding in Small Farm Business Development
Farmers Markets in the Finger Lakes Region
Collaborative Marketing for Small Farms


Upcoming Events
2019 Processing Vegetable Crops Advisory Meeting

December 17, 2019
9:30am - 12:10pm, 1pm - 2pm, and 2pm - 3:30pm
Batavia, NY
2020 Finger Lakes Produce Auction Education Meeting

January 2, 2020
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Penn Yan, NY
2020 Ontario Produce Auction Winter Growers Meeting
