University of California (UC) Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension and UC Davis Dept. of Agricultural and Resource Economics released a new 19-page report that looks at strawberry production costs along the Central Coast in California. The study, titled Sample Costs to Produce and Harvest Strawberries, assumed 45 acres of strawberries on 50 acres of rented land in a vegetable rotation in its model, and provided sample costs for everything from labor to materials to repairs.
With the assumption of 9,000 trays per acre at a unit price of $11, the report estimates cultural costs at $22,264 per acre and harvest costs at $79,288 per acre. With the inclusion of 9% interest on operating capital, the total operating costs per acre are estimated at $105,809.
With the addition of overhead, the total costs per acre totaled $112,694 per acre.
The report stresses that strawberry production is a high risk endeavor. While the report can’t fully represent all of the elements that can affect the economics and profitability of fresh strawberries, it does its best to provide this information based on the real-world practices of a typical strawberry farm found in the central coastal regions of the state.
There are many factors that can heavily influence fluctuations in these estimates. These specific regions alone have varying land rents and taxes, and farm-specific practices and input costs can move overall production costs in either direction.
For example, the study assumed flat land and fumigation land preparation that includes discing six times, subsoiling twice, chiseling twice, followed by a half acre-inch of water prior to fumigating with a combination of chloropicrin and 1,3-dichloropropene. With the inclusion of the permit, this is estimated at $5,028 for solid, tarped fumigation.
Plants were planted at 17,424 plants to the acre with 5% — or 870 plants — built into the cost estimates as a buffer for plants that would need to be replanted in the following weeks for a variety of possible reasons.
Post-plant irrigation also has a wider range of cost variability due to soil types, water districts and fees, weather conditions and other factors. Effective rainfall was not considered in the study, and irrigation water cost is estimated at $360 per acre-foot ($30 per acre-inch).
Labor rates included overhead of 48%, putting rates at $24.42 and $29.60 per hour for field labor and machine operators, respectively. This included not only basic hourly wages, but payroll taxes, workers compensation, and other factors. Use of the federal H-2A program would also affect these costs.
This study provides growers with a baseline to estimate their own costs, which can help when applying for production loans, projecting labor costs, securing market arrangements, or understanding costs associated with water and nutrient management and regulatory programs,” said Brittney Goodrich, UC Cooperative Extension specialist and study co-author.
The 2022 report (Sample Costs to Produce and Harvest Organic Strawberries) is available for organic strawberry production, which makes up about 13% of the market.
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