February
14, 2002February
14, 2002
The MU Value-Added Development Center has added online budget calculation forms for four horticulture crops-- tomatoes, sweet corn, watermelon and cantaloupe. Generic forms, adaptable for a variety of horticultural, forage and grain crops, also are available.
The forms, which are available free of charge through AgEBB, are available in printable PDF format and as Excel spreadsheets.
"We're getting a lot of calls for budgeting information on horticulture crops, a sign that interest in growing these crops is expanding," says Melvin Brees, co-director of the MU Value Added Center.
"I think we've created budgets that are as thorough as possible," says Brees, who consulted with producers about operations and inputs common to horticultural businesses, and the associated costs. "The purpose is really to help producers, or potential producers, think through all the costs associated with starting a particular enterprise," Brees says. "One thing that kept showing up is how many activities horticultural producers don't remember to account for."
"Most people figure in costs for tillage, planting, those kinds of things. But they often forget, or underestimate, the amount of time spent forming up planting beds, moving irrigation equipment, mulching, or removing and disposing of mulches after the season.
"If you're interested in a value-added business, the most critical thing is to have a thorough accounting of the farm production costs and farm-gate value."
Both the PDF and spreadsheet forms include example prices for each activity. Prices were based on the range of costs Brees discovered in his research with actual producers.
Budget forms, created in 2002, for corn, soybeans and forage enterprises also are available from AgEBB.
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Eileen Yager,
yagere@umsystem.edu |
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