The Cornell Univeristy Department of Horticulture is just beginning a new berry research project funded by the NYFVI Ag Innovation Center “Building a Better Bottom Line for NYS Berry Growers,” and they are looking for grower volunteers for the project.
Are you confident your commercial berry business is maximizing your return on investment? Is it thriving, or merely surviving? Are berries an asset on your ledger or really a liability?
If you’d like help answering these questions, volunteer as a grower participant in a new project, “Building a Better Bottom Line for NYS Berry Growers,” funded by New York Farm Viability Institute’s Ag Innovation Center.
The project is led by Dr. Marvin Pritts, professor and chair of the Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture. Other team members include horticultural marketing expert Dr. Bradley Rickard and two graduate students from the Cornell’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and nine Cornell Cooperative Extension educators from around the state.
About the project
During Stage 1, the project team will enlist 24 commercial berry growers statewide to participate in berry farm business summaries. Participating farm operations need to have been in business the past three years, had sales in 2012, and preferably produce at least two berry crops.
Extension educators will work with growers to collect economic information for the summaries. In addition, they will collect crop production data to develop crop budgets. Crops in the initial study will include strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
Information collected will remain anonymous. The budgets generated will not be attributed to specific farms. Instead, they will provide benchmarks (statewide averages calculated from collected data) that will help participants evaluate their business performance. In return for their participation, growers will receive a one-on-one review of their berry farm business summary with their educator as well as crop budgets and other resources related to the project.
Why a berry farm
business summary?
Berry project team members are building on a the Cornell-developed Fruit Farm Business Summary (FFBS), which has helped tree fruit growers improve their return on investment (ROI) for more than a decade. According to a study by Dyson School professor emeritus Gerald White, the FFBS “identifies the business and financial information they (growers) need and provides a framework for use in identifying and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the farm business.”
Experience with tree fruit growers using FFBS shows they quickly identify practices that are more costly than state benchmarks and address why their individual costs are higher. Early in the process, growers often make changes that immediately improve their bottom line. Participating growers also learn which components of their operation should be expanded or contracted to improve return on investment (ROI). Participating berry growers should reap the same rewards as their tree-fruit colleagues.
During Stage 2 of the project educators will hold half-day regional berry crop economics workshops using the information and resources generated from Stage 1 to assist additional berry growers in evaluating their ROI.
How do I get involved?
You may be contacted in the future by an educator in your region and asked to consider being a participant. To volunteer now or to receive more information please contact the project team member closest to you.
The Cornell Univeristy Department of Horticulture is just beginning a new berry research project funded by the NYFVI Ag Innovation Center “Building a Better Bottom Line for NYS Berry Growers,” and they are looking for grower volunteers for the project.
Are you confident your commercial berry business is maximizing your return on investment? Is it thriving, or merely surviving? Are berries an asset on your ledger or really a liability?
If you’d like help answering these questions, volunteer as a grower participant in a new project, “Building a Better Bottom Line for NYS Berry Growers,” funded by New York Farm Viability Institute’s Ag Innovation Center.
The project is led by Dr. Marvin Pritts, professor and chair of the Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture. Other team members include horticultural marketing expert Dr. Bradley Rickard and two graduate students from the Cornell’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and nine Cornell Cooperative Extension educators from around the state.
About the project
During Stage 1, the project team will enlist 24 commercial berry growers statewide to participate in berry farm business summaries. Participating farm operations need to have been in business the past three years, had sales in 2012, and preferably produce at least two berry crops.
Extension educators will work with growers to collect economic information for the summaries. In addition, they will collect crop production data to develop crop budgets. Crops in the initial study will include strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
Information collected will remain anonymous. The budgets generated will not be attributed to specific farms. Instead, they will provide benchmarks (statewide averages calculated from collected data) that will help participants evaluate their business performance. In return for their participation, growers will receive a one-on-one review of their berry farm business summary with their educator as well as crop budgets and other resources related to the project.
Why a berry farm
business summary?
Berry project team members are building on a the Cornell-developed Fruit Farm Business Summary (FFBS), which has helped tree fruit growers improve their return on investment (ROI) for more than a decade. According to a study by Dyson School professor emeritus Gerald White, the FFBS “identifies the business and financial information they (growers) need and provides a framework for use in identifying and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the farm business.”
Experience with tree fruit growers using FFBS shows they quickly identify practices that are more costly than state benchmarks and address why their individual costs are higher. Early in the process, growers often make changes that immediately improve their bottom line. Participating growers also learn which components of their operation should be expanded or contracted to improve return on investment (ROI). Participating berry growers should reap the same rewards as their tree-fruit colleagues.
During Stage 2 of the project educators will hold half-day regional berry crop economics workshops using the information and resources generated from Stage 1 to assist additional berry growers in evaluating their ROI.
How do I get involved?
You may be contacted in the future by an educator in your region and asked to consider being a participant. To volunteer now or to receive more information please contact the project team member closest to you.
