GROWING INFRASTRUCTURE

WITH YOUR VEGETABLE FARM

Katie Brandt & Tom CaryGroundswell Farm

Share in 2 to 3 words:

What would make your farm better in

2016?

VEG FARM INFRASTRUCTURE Groundswell’s Story General Ideas Types of Infrastructure Propagation Greenhouses Hoophouses Wash/Packhouse Coolers Tractors & Equipment Delivery Trucks

Budgeting

10 Years in the Muck!Year Infrastructure Sales Inf.$ FTE Challenges2005

Lease 7 acres of muck in December!

$0 $0 0 Nerves, decisions

2006

16x48 Greenhouse, Well, Truck $17K $12K

2/0 Zero infrastructure, few building skills

2007

Tractor, 8x8 Cooler, Disc, Rotavator

$38K $9K 2/1 Doubling business

2008

Truck, Brush Hog, Hiller, Spin-Spray

$46K $5K 2/1.5

2Floods, interpersonal

2009

GH expansion, $10K Farmer buyout, buy farmsite @ $24,500

$63K $2K 2/2 1 Flood

2010

G Tractor, Potato Planter $87K $8K 2/2.5

New farmer

2011

Potato Digger, Paper pot planter*

$131K

$4K 3/4 Special orders

2012

NRCS Hoophouse, 10 acre ($63K),well*

$132K

$11K

3/5 Drought, Baby

2013

Delivery Truck, Manure spreader, Lifter

$166K

$9K 4/5 Cooler space

2014

30x48 Wash Station, Tractor, Rotavator, Plow, Delivery Truck, Semi-trailer cooler

$190K

$55K

5/5 Building delays

2015

Driveway, Wash Station, Barrel Washer

$193K

~$10K

4.5/6

Staff turnover, Tom arm, high yields

2016

22x32 greenhouse, Semi-trailer cooler

? ? 4.5/6

?

* Starred items were poor investments

ESSENTIALS Walk in CoolerGood soil!!

Greenhouse

Wash stationHarvesting tools

Marketing plan

Farmworkers

Crop plan

Irrigation plan – Drip, sprinklers, solid set, etc.

IMPROVEMENTSMore cooler space

Tool storageScales

Delivery Truck

GROWER TO GROWER STUDY

2002 to 2004 UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems 

19 growers 6 @ ½ to 3 acres; 8 @ 3 to 12 acres; 5 @ 12 to 80 acres 18 of 19 were organic or no-spray

Equipment ½ to 3 acres own $2K to $27K of equipment per acre Most at 3+ acres own $4K to $13K of equipment per acre

Up to $27K per acre Up to $70K per farm

13-14% of earnings reinvested in Equipment or Major repairs, regardless of farm size

GROWER TO GROWER STUDY

SURVEY:WHAT 5 INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS PAID FOR THEMSELVES IN 3 YEARS OR LESS?Hoophouses (5)Greenhouses (3)Cultivators/Cultivating tractors (3)Delivery trucks or trailers (2) Automation of vents in tomato house.

1 year payback due to reduced fungal disease.

Wash packWalk-in coolers (2)TractorWellImplements - potato hiller, mulch layer, carrot lifter, brush hog, undercutter bar/lifter, barrel washer

Not sure/didn’t keep good records (2)MANY THANKS TO Real Food Farm, Full Hollow Farm, Green Wagon, Seeley Farm, Little Red Organics, Green Gardens & Stone Coop Farm

Purchase

Came with Farm

Under $10 K

$10K - $50K

$50-$100K

$100-$200K

Farmland

Imp/Exp Wash Station

Cooler

Tractor

Cultivating Tractor

Implements

Greenhouse

Hoophouse

Delivery Truck

Well

SURVEY: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS FOR YOUR FARM?Affordable (3) Payback time (2)Labor savings (1)Energy Savings (1)

Needs (2)Reduced Stress (2)Improves crops or soils (1)Ability to move if lease ends (1)

10-year long-range planning (1)Farmworker recommendations (1)

ROXBURY

www.Roxbury farm Do you enjoy fixing and maintaining equipment?Weakest linkHow much value does the equipment generate?How can you pay for the equipment?Is the equipment in good working order? Can nature do anything that you want your equipment to do? What is your personal goal with this farm? Is the new piece of equipment part of the total system of the farm?

SURVEY:DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR FARMERS WHO PLAN TO IMPROVE THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE?

Visit other farms/talk to farmers (3) Be scrappy! Build simply to start (3) We built everything the first 2 years after we bought our land.

HUGE capital expense. Wish we had taken more time to evaluate our needs before we spent so much money on buildings

Think of long-term farm needs (2) Remember payback times (2) Consider reductions in stress & exhaustion Be efficient with space & remember work flow patterns

Think of farm goals Get lowest interest rates Don’t invest too much in specialized equipment

Washing $100Ks of veg in a tent shantytown . . .

OR

Build well from the start

SURVEY: GREENHOUSES

Size 700sf ~1000sf (2) ~1500sf (2) ~2100sf (2)

Ventilation Rollup sides Thermostats & fans Automatic peak vents

Heat Propane Natural Gas Wood boiler with passive

solar Heat mats

Floor Gravel Weed Barrier

205 to 299 sf/a

HOOPHOUSES FOR WINTER GROWINGBenefitsGenerate incomeIncrease sales of winter storage cropsWorker retention

Survey: None (2)1,700 sf Propagation house 3,000 sf gothic, rollup sides7,000 sf

30'x96', 14'x126', 14'x160', all with rollup sides16,000 sf

(1) 30ft x 96 Waldo, (3) 30ft x 144 ft Rimols. All have automatic roll up sides with manual cranks too, automatic peak vents, double plastic, roll up or large slider doors (8 ft by 8 ft), and circulation fans

24,000 sf(5) 30x144 ft, (1)30x96 ft, one layer poly, vents at ends

with thermostat, roll-ups to 5 ft4 ground to ground, 2 gutter connects (# sf?)

MSU Student Organic Farm 120-member 48-week

CSA Hoophouse 2200 sf/a

110sf/CSA member

SURVEY:WASH STATIONS

Structures – Pole Barns Lean-to’s A garage A corn crib

Floors Concrete floor with center drainDry well

Equipment Triple sinks 55 to 300 gal. sinks (some with bubblers) Salad Greens

5 gallon salad spinnerWashing Machines for drying salad greens

RootsRoot spraying tablesBarrel washers

Food SafetyDrop-down hoses Hand-washing sinksDrip tables

Heat & ACWhite boards

192 sf/a100 sf/a

WASH STATION DESIGN Leopold Center Wash Lines

Cost under $1000 for structure and sinks Full design and supply list online

Hoophouse Cost

$3,000 for hoophouse $4,000 for cement floor $13,000 for equipment

http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/cool_tools/wash_stations

WHOLESALE SUCCESS

COOLERSSurvey6X8 to 12X12 coolersTwo farms had multiple coolers with different temps

A mobile insulated trailer with cool-bot

Reefer truckNon-mobile 50 ft. semi-trailer with multiple temp zones

180cf/a + 400 cf/a

MSU Student Organic Farm 120-member 48-week CSA Cooler 1000 cf/a

50 cf/CSA member

COOLERS VS COOL-BOTS! Coolers Available used High Humidity Well-insulated Need professional installationCool-bots Low cost to convert insulated spaces

Study shows can be effective if well insulated

May need to add humidity or cover produce

http://practicalfarmers.org/farmer-knowledge/research-reports/2015/coolbot-vs-commercial-chilling-systems-in-walk-in-coolers/

35°F 45-55°F 38-40°F

SURVEY:TRACTORS20 – 85HP Tractors40 – 50 HP common in survey

Cultivation Tractors (often Allis Chalmers G)With cultivators, planters, planet jr, hillers, furrowers

Allis Chalmers G or other cultivation tractor

SURVEY: 3 FAVORITE IMPLEMENTSBed Prep

Rotavotor (4)Falc SpaderR2 rinaldi power harrowPoly Mulch layer

Cultivators (4)Tillage

Chisel plowDisc

HarvestPotato digger (2)Undercutter bar/lifter

Other Brush hog Snow blowerJang seederElectric fence

“We don't like most of our implements. They're frustrating.”

Figure 2. Percentage of organic field crop and vegetable producers in Michigan that have access to agricultural equipment. Source: Carolyn Lowry PhD Dissertation, MSU Horticulture, 2015.

Farm Equipment Lists Grower to Grower

1.5 a = $6K 5 a = $35K 20 a = $43-

85K Sustainable Veg.

Production from Start-up to Market (Grubinger)

TRACTOR FARMING ESSENTIALS

Brush Hog or Flail MowerManure Spreader or

Cone Spreader

Primary Tillage

PlowChiselDiscSubsoiler

Cultivators

Plastic Mulch Layer or Weed Barrier

Secondary tillage

TRACTOR FARMING IMPROVEMENTSPotato Hiller & Plastic mulch puller

Cultipacker

Potato DiggerPotato Planter

Undercutter Bar

SURVEY: DELIVERY TRUCKS Pickup Trucks with caps (4) Trucks with trailers

5x8ft. Insulated trailer with coolbot 6x20 Refrigerated trailer

Box Trucks (2) Cargo Van Minivan Personal vehicles

Pack ‘N Cool Design at https://plantsforhumanhealth.ncsu.edu/pack-n-cool

/

BUDGETING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE1. Enter all supplies into an excel file

a) Get exact prices to the penny for new itemsb) Make a high – low range for used items &

adjust as you learn more

2. Total3. Trim away what isn’t essential4. Multiply by 1.3 (or more) to include

unexpected expenses5. Total & trim away again

Continue Budgeting Annually

Less detailed than 1st seasonNote the large

“Supplies” budget

Track expenses & income and use for planning

Helps to figure out how & if to make large purchases

Expenses Low est. Best Est. High EstimateTractor repairs 1,000 1,000 2,000 Polk St. Payment 4,000 4,000 4,000 Polk St. (Cary loan) 4,000 4,000 4,000 Labor 35,000 40,000 43,500 Labor Taxes 4,000 4,000 4,000 Supplies 12,000 12,000 12,000 Seeds 3,500 3,500 3,500 DeliveryTruck 7,000 7,000 7,000 Sell Pickup truck (4,500) (4,000) (3,500)Gasoline 2,400 2,400 2,400 Propane 2,500 2,500 2,500 Insurance 2,500 2,500 2,500 Utilities 800 800 800 Pay Farmers 31,000 31,000 31,000 Total 108,800 114,300 119,300        Income High Est. Best Est. Low Est Market 34,000 28,000 10,000 Harvest Health 11,000 9,000 3,000 Nourish 2,000 2,000 - WM Co-op 4,000 4,000 3,000 CSA 74,000 74,000 74,000 Total $ 125,000 $ 117,000 $ 90,000 Profit      Income 125,000 117,000 90,000 Expenses 108,800 114,300 119,300

Profit $ 16,200 $ 2,700 $ (29,300)       Cash assets      

Starting Bank balance 14,000 14,000 14,000 Profit 16,200 2,700 (29,300)Year end balance $ 30,200 $ 16,700 $ (15,300)

Assumes 2015 sales & expenses +$7500 MONTHLY CASH FLOW PROJECTIONgarlic sales and tom pay at 2016 rate ($5000)Company: Pre- OWNER:____________________

Start-up Month: Month: Month: Month: Month: Month: Month:Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1.) CASH ON HAND (BEGIN. OF MO.) 9352 9352 8397 5803 15183 13564 14148 192792.) CASH RECEIPTS a. Cash Sales (+$7500 for garlic in Oct) 2902.89 4810.22 15299.79 9086.22 16178.23 23798 23977.11CSA price increase ($25 each for full share, $15 for half) 571 571 571 571 571 571 571 c. Loan or Other Cash Injection (tax return) 4000 -4000 d. Loan or Other Cash Injection e. Loan or Other Cash Injection f .3.) TOTAL CASH RECEIPTS 0 7474 5381 15871 9657 16749 24369 205484.) TOTAL CASH AVAILABLE 9352 16826 13778 21674 24841 30313 38517 398275.) CASH PAID OUTSEEDS 1199.35 3807.07 27.23 129.73 133.8 610.5 192.6Fertilizer 0 0 1175 356 1564.4 32.72 235Gas 0 124.47 41.96 182.62 210.59 386.92 249.35Payroll 342.37 0 0 1171.07 3418.79 8402.91 9108.74Payroll taxes 1776.64 0 95.38 0 1468.72 2779.22 6681.04Minimum wage increase of 35 cents 85 0 4 47 196 447 632

e. Subtotal Variable Expenses 0 3403 3932 1343 1886 6992 12660 17098

2012

FUNDING INFRASTRUCTURE! Buying Reinvesting profits Do you qualify for loans?

FSA Greenstone FCS 0% credit card transfers Do you want/need to spend $$ interest

payments? Alternative Funding Strategies

Family Loans Crowdfunding Investments by customers

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST FARM IMPROVEMENT EVER?