Information for beginning farmers.
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Wholesale Price Information
Some wholesale prices are reported and can be accessed to provide a guide for pricing farm products. Wholesale prices are extremely low compared to retail prices you might get locally and should be considered a floor or minimum price. To determine prices for your products consider your costs and the retail price of other competitors.
Produce
Price monitoring programs are conducted through the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (www.ams.usda.gov). Links to reports containing wholesale market price information are available at www.farmersmarketonline.com/marketwa.htm. These reports are updated daily during the growing season.
Additional reports covering many other aspects of agricultural pricing are available by navigating to the “Market News and Transportation” section of the AMS website (www.ams.usda.gov). If you click on Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops, you will find the news portal with daily price information and a users’ guide.
Organic Prices
- Organic Produce Pricing Report from the Rodale Institute: www.rodaleinstitute.org/Organic-Price-Report
- www.ers.usda.gov/Data/OrganicPrices/
Livestock and Field Crops price information
- www.weeklylivestock.com – The Weekly Livestock Reporter
- USDA AMS Livestock & Grain Market News – go to www.ams.usda.gov and click on “Market News and Transportation Data” on the left. You can then navigate to Livestock or any other commodity.
List of Livestock Market Auctions: www.sheepgoatmarketing.info/PageLoad.cfm?page=directory/marketReport.cfm&type=3 - Provides a listing of livestock auctions in NYS
Local Markets
It is important to check local outlets for price information. Ask other farmers about what they charge, ask buyers in your area what they would pay, visit retail outlets and note prices, shop at farmers’ markets and see what products are selling for. Pricing should be based on your costs, being competitive, and on what the particular market area customer will pay for high quality local products. Offer high quality and differentiate your products to capture a higher price.
This fact sheet is part of the Guide to Farming in NY by Monika Roth et al, published by the Cornell Small Farms Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension. Fact sheets are updated once annually, so information may have changed since last revision. If you are reading a printed version of a fact sheet, compare revision date with online fact sheet publish dates at https://nebeginningfarmers.org/publications/farming-guide to make sure you have the latest version.