Re: Nebraska tomato farm

Posted by PhilcaseinWPa on February 22, 2006 at 05:15:40 from (146.186.55.48):

In Reply to: Re: Nebraska tomato farm posted by Cory A. on February 21, 2006 at 19:49:37:

Make your contacts with the grocery store before you plant your crop. In some areas the stores are hard to crack. A lot of the stores , particularly chains, only buy through their own warehouses. Independent grocerers are more receptive to locally grown produce. This is changing a little as the large stores are becoming more sensitive to the costomers' preference to local/ fresh items. If you can become certified organic it may help your marketing (doesn't make a difference to the tomato, only more difficult to control disease and pests). Tomatoes are labor intensive and labor costs money. If water is a concern then you may want to (should ) use plastic mulch and drip irrigation. To get the biggest yeild staking will definetly help. We plant tomatoes with the rows on 6 foot centers and the plants 2 foot apart. This gives about 12 square fot per plant or about 3600 plants per planted acre. We only grow about an acre and retail about 10 - 12000 lbs per year. the price we get averages $1+/lb. Wholesale prices are much lower during the glut season maybe 25 cents or less and you provide the containers and transportation. Also by retailing we can discount price our seconds and move some of those. If you send anything but good fruit to a grocery or wholesale market you won't have that market long.
So do your homework, check on markets, check on labor, check on equipment needed, check on supplies needed, check on fertilizers and chemicals needed, check on the time you have available, then recheck and pray for good weather.
Check with the extension service , Why even in Nebraska I bet they have some good information on raising tomatoes in your area. Sorry for the long post but I don't want you to leap without looking.
It can be a long drop.
Phil

Replies:

• Re: Nebraska tomato farm Hugh MacKay 05:30:15 02/22/06 (0)

Add a Reply Name: E-Mail: Subject: Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]