October 08, 2009

A collaborative cost of production study conducted by several research agencies has resulted in a new report offering updated economic analyses and forecasts for 20 specialty crops grown in California. The work was led by Mechel Paggi, director of Fresno State’s Center for Agricultural Business (CAB), with support from economists from CAB, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE).

The report is titled, “Specialty Crop Representative Farm Models: Forecasts, Policy Analysis and International Comparative Studies.” It was developed by compiling basic economic information provided by the UCCE, then augmenting it with additional data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, area grower associations and producer surveys.

The report includes a “representative” production operation for each of 20 selected specialty crops. The model operations characterize the most common types found in the industry for that type of crop, in terms of acreage, production and overhead costs, yield, and other features. Based on these models, profitability can be projected for operations of different sizes and configurations.

Funding for the project was made available by the Governor's Buy California Initiative, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and USDA.

For more information on obtaining a copy of the report, visit the CAB Web site at http://cati.csufresno.edu/cab or the CISCC site at http://cissc.calpoly.edu.