Cost Calculator: Three Basin Produce Washing
Robert Hadad, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

Need to know how much it will cost to run a wash line for vegetable and adding sanitizers to the water? This spreadsheet that will give you the breakdown of costs based on the type of sanitizer chosen and will further provide how the costs are divided over each step of post-harvest washing and handling.
This spreadsheet is connected to the Sanitizer Dose Calculator. So start off with picking your sanitizer and the volume of your tanks/tubs/basins. The information given will also be kicked into the Cost Calculator for the 3 Basin Produce Washing tool. Follow the instructions for the green boxes and also add your salary per hour (or workers' pay per hour). This will provide the costs for each of the steps.
Cost Calculator_3 Basin Produce Washing (xlsx; 202KB)

Upcoming Events
2026 NYS Processing Vegetable Educational Meeting
March 16, 2026
Batavia, NY
Processing vegetable industry members who grow, manage, or support crop production for Farm Fresh First/Nortera Foods, Seneca Foods and/or Love Beets, are encouraged to sign-up for the 2026 NYS Processing Vegetable Industry Meeting! You will:
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March 17, 2026
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Postharvest Water Management, Sanitation, and Traceability Workshop
March 18, 2026
Albion, NY
Cornell University personnel from the National GAPs Program and the Produce Safety Alliance are presenting a workshop on postharvest water management, sanitation, and traceability. This workshop will include a mix of short talks and hands-on activities to provide attendees with applied experience with sanitation, postharvest water, and traceability topics.
2.75 NYSDEC CEU's in categories 10, 1a, and 23 available.