6/26-7/2 Farmers Market Price Data Summary

Cornell Cooperative Extension E-News on Farmers Market's Pricing in Eastern and Northern NY

6/26-7/2 Farmers Market's Price Summary E-News

Our Mission

Many farmers choose to market and sell their products directly to consumers. While some set one price for the duration of a market, others change their prices according to their costs of production or to match prices of other vendors in the market. All of these strategies present challenges in maximizing revenue for the producer, often times resulting in missed opportunities to realize more income.

In response to this pressing issue, Cornell Cooperative Extension has designed a project seeking to provide vendors across eastern NY with timely farmers market price data summaries that examine regional variations in the pricing of the same seasonal products.

To fulfill the goals of this project, Cooperative Extension staff will be travelling to markets each week to record the prices of products. Aggregating these prices will then allow staff to determine regional differences and opportunities to increase price. This data can be used by farmers to adjust prices and, therefore, increase revenue and profit.

CCE's Farmers Market Summary Reports are merely one of many ways vendors and farmers, such as yourself, can receive this information in these upcoming months! Look for CCE staff at your local market to receive flyers, or follow us on Facebook and other social media sites based off your region!

Important Notes About Project Data

Products labelled as NC determine that those are the average prices for products produced using non-conventional methods. This includes organic, natural, grass-fed, etc.

Spaces left blank conclude that not enough data was available for that product to provide an accurate average for the week

Northern Data is out!

Regions are defined as the following! Find your county to see where you fall!

CAPITAL REGION:

This region is defined by counties including Schenectady, Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, and Greene.

MID-HUDSON REGION:

This region is defined by counties including Putnam, Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange.

SARATOGA LAKE GEORGE REGION:

This region is defined by counties including Washington, Saratoga and Warren.

NORTHERN REGION:

This region is defined by counties including Clinton, Jefferson and St. Lawrence.

Vegetable Summary

This summary includes pricing data on eleven varying vegetable products. These products are tracked and recorded depending upon the growing methods used during production: Conventional vs. Non-Conventional.

		Capital Region	Mid-Hudson Region	Saratoga/ Lake George Region	Northern Region
Product	Unit	Average Price	Average Price	Average Price	Average Price
Beefsteak Tomatoes	lb.
Beefsteak Tomatoes NC	lb.	4.48		3.95	3.50
Carrots	bunch	2.50	3.00
Carrots NC	bunch			3.00
Cherry Tomatoes	lb.
Cherry Tomatoes NC	lb.	5.00
Heirloom Tomatoes	lb.
Heirloom Tomatoes NC	lb.
Red Potato	lb.
Red Potato NC	lb.		2.50
Russet Potato	lb.
Russet Potato NC	lb.
Salad Mix	1/2 lb.	3.00		5.00
Salad Mix NC	1/2 lb.	5.06	4.75	4.70
Shelled Pea	pint	3.00	3.50		2.50
Shelled Pea NC	pint	4.00	3.50
Sugar Snap Pea	pint	3.58	2.50	4.00
Sugar Snap Pea NC	pint	4.17	3.50	4.60
Sweet Corn	dozen
Sweet Corn NC	dozen
Yellow Potatoes	lb.
Yellow Potatoes NC	lb.			4.00

Fruit Summary

This summary includes pricing data on three fruit varieties. These products are tracked and recorded depending upon the growing methods used during production: Conventional vs. Non-Conventional.

		Capital Region	Mid-Hudson Region	Saratoga/ Lake George Region	Northern Region
Product	Unit	Average Price	Average Price	Average Price	Average Price
Blueberries	pint	4.25	7.50	4.00	3.50
Blueberries NC	pint	5.00
Honey	lb.
Honey NC	lb.
Raspberries	1/2 pint	6.13		4.00
Raspberries NC	pint	3.50
Strawberries	pint	4.67	5.00	4.00	4.00
Strawberries NC	pint	5.00		4.00

Meat Summary

This summary includes pricing data on six varying cuts of meat. These products are tracked and recorded depending upon the growing methods used during production: Conventional vs. Non-Conventional. Be sure to look out for changes in cuts tracked each month!

		Capital Region	Mid-Hudson Region	Saratoga/ Lake George Region	Northern Region
Product	Unit	Average Price	Average Price	Average Price	Average Price
Lamb Chop	lb.		11.00
Lamb Chop NC	lb.	13.00	17.00	13.48
Pork Chop	lb.			9.95
Pork Chop NC	lb.	11.32	9.50	10.22
Short Rib	lb.				7.00
Short Rib NC	lb.	8.21	7.25	7.00
Strip Steak	lb.				13.00
Strip Steak NC	lb.	22.82	21.00	15.98
Ground Beef	lb.				4.95
Ground Beef NC	lb.	8.32	7.00	7.26	5.00
Whole Chicken	lb.				3.50
Whole Chicken NC	lb.	5.31	5.00	4.49

"Why does a strawberry grown down the road cost more than one grown in California?"

June 21st- Phaedra Hise with the Washington Post writes about the growing variation between retail and farmers market prices. Using strawberries as the primary example, Hise examines how economies of scale, factors of production, and location effect the price differences of this specific produce between California and the east coast. Included are the opinions of, both, consumers and producers about small scale farming and local food movements. Check out what they had to say by following the link! http://wapo.st/28Ptcnu

A Message from the USDA

Get ready, get listed! National Farmers Market week is coming (Aug 7-13) and you want people to find your market! USDA's Local Food Directories can help you promote your farmers market. This tool will allow shoppers to quickly identify you as a supplier of the local food. It takes less than10 minutes to add or update your listing.

USDA will share the number of farmers markets listed in the directory with media and stakeholders across the country during National Farmers Market Week. We want you to be counted! Time is running out! New listings or updated information must be entered by July 15, 2016, to be included in the national numbers, so don't delay.

It's easier than ever to register! If this is your first time listing your market in the Directory, go to www.usdadirectoryupdate.comto add your market. In less than 10 minutes you're done. That's all it takes.

If you do not know if your farmers market is listed, then you can search the National Farmers Market Directory database to find out. If your market was in the Directory last year, we sent an e-mail during the week of June 27th that has a direct link to update your market listing.

Even if you listed your market last year, you should check the directory again to make sure all your information is still correct.

Here is how the Directory can help you

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory helps you tell customers what they want to know about your market:

Where and when your market opens
Second and third market locations that you operate
What products your market sells
If your market accepts:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Women, Infants and Children Farmers Market Nutrition Program (WIC-FMNP)
- Women, Infant and Children, Cash Value Vouchers (WIC-CVV)
- Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP)
Whether or not the market acceptances debit/credit cards
Consumers can even get:
- Driving directions to the market they choose to visit
- Map markets within a radius of their current location
- Get a state or national map of farmers markets

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory used by mobile application developers to help consumers find you or other markets across the nation.

The Directory attracted over 400,000 page views from users last year. It's the "go-to" resource for consumers, researchers, community planners and more to better understand the size of farmers markets across the nation.

Don't delay, please be counted by including your market by July 15.

Thank you,
USDA's National Farmers Market Directory Team

A Letter From Our Intern

My name is Cassandra Kiechle and I am currently a rising sophomore at Cornell University in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. I am majoring in Agricultural Sciences with a concentration in education. I am unsure of exactly what career I want to pursue in the future, but I really enjoy working with kids and agriculture. I grew up on a small, one hundred cow dairy farm in Philadelphia, New York (a very small town north of Watertown).

This summer, I am working at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Jefferson County. My main project is working with Lindsey Pashow to develop a food hub for Northern New York. However, I am also working with the intern in the Capital District, Lindsey McMahon, to send her Farmer's Market data from the Northern Region. I am looking forward to everything there is to learn this summer about business, marketing and agriculture in general. I have seen firsthand how difficult it is to run a successful farm and I am really looking forward to, hopefully, obtaining data that can help local farmers become more successful and profitable.

For More Information About the Project Please Contact....

Lindsey McMahon Steve Hadcock

Summer Intern CAAHP Market Development Educator

lm679@cornell.edu
seh11@cornell.edu

(518)828-3346 x205 (518)828-3346 x106

Jesse Strzok

ENY Production Economics Specialist

js3234@cornell.edu

(518)746-2419