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.
Acceptable quality standards and common defects that should be sorted out on the grading line are depicted in these resources, both visually and in outline form.
This resource was developed through the support of Cheryl Thayer of CCE Harvest NY, Dave Walczak of Eden Valley Growers, Angela (Parr) Ochterski and Robert Hadad of the CCE Cornell Vegetable Program, and Jim Monahan of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Further, development of this resource was made possible through grant funding from the USDA Local Food Promotion Program.
Additional sheets are being added. See the new Romaine Lettuce sheet (September 2019) and Acorn Squash sheet (2018). New sheets are created by Robert Hadad and Angela Ochterski of the CCE Cornell Vegetable Program.
Acorn Squash (pdf; 1397KB)
Broccoli Crowns (pdf; 1416KB)
Brussels Sprouts (pdf; 917KB)
Cabbage - Green (pdf; 1037KB)
Cabbage - Red (pdf; 1431KB)
Cabbage - Savory (pdf; 1087KB)
Cauliflower 9's (pdf; 1409KB)
Cucumbers - Select (pdf; 880KB)
Cucumbers - 24ct Super (pdf; 1143KB)
Cucumbers - 36ct Super (pdf; 1143KB)
Cucumbers - Super (pdf; 1142KB)
Eggplant (pdf; 1113KB)
Green Beans (pdf; 780KB)
Peppers - Choice Green (pdf; 743KB)
Peppers - Green Sweet Large (pdf; 875KB)
Peppers - Green Sweet Medium (pdf; 907KB)
Peppers - Hungarian Hot 1 1/9 (pdf; 660KB)
Peppers - Hungarian Hot 1/2 Bushel (pdf; 662KB)
Peppers - Jalapeno 1 1/9 (pdf; 824KB)
Peppers - Jalapeno 1/2 Bushel (pdf; 828KB)
Peppers - Pablano 1 1/9 (pdf; 753KB)
Peppers - Pablano 1/2 Bushel (pdf; 756KB)
Romaine Lettuce (pdf; 364KB)
Squash - Summer (pdf; 802KB)
Sweet Corn Boxes (pdf; 2089KB)
Zucchini (pdf; 1173KB)
Set of All Crop Sheets (pdf; 17316KB)
- Download this file if you wish to have 1 file containing all 26 crop sheets


Upcoming Events
2023 Potato Advisory Meeting

December 12, 2023
Canandaigua, NY
This year's Potato Advisory Meeting will include talks from Cornell faculty on insect pest and weed updates, as well as updates from this year's potato variety trials. Following lunch, there will be a round table discussion with fellow potato growers and industry members. DEC credits: 2.0 credits in 10, 1a, 23. This meeting is FREE to attendees and includes lunch!
2024 Finger Lakes Produce Auction Winter Growers Meeting

January 4, 2024
Penn Yan, NY
This annual meeting will present information on insect and disease management in fresh market vegetables in both field and greenhouse (high tunnel) vegetables, primarily for those growing for wholesale auction. Grafting, biological and, where appropriate, conventional spray options will be discussed. Berry production updates will be provided. A general session will include updates from the Food Safety Modernization Act. Judson Reid, Senior Extension Associate with the Cornell Vegetable Program along with CCE staff will instruct participants and facilitate peer-based learnings. DEC recertification credits will be offered.