July 2022 - 18

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
Strategies for selling at produce auctions
BRIAN MOYER
Penn State Extension
bfm3@psu.edu
a strategy for success. Like any market
channel, one needs to be strategic about
selling at auction.
Talk to Someone
Before you bring any product to
Agriculture is a subculture of
our society. Produce auctions are a
subculture of agriculture and are not
always fully understood by folks working
in the food system.
I and two Extension colleagues are
part of a two-year Specialty Crop Block
Grant study on produce auctions.
One of the goals of the grant is to
educate potential buyers and sellers
and to dispel some of the myths about
produce auctions.
Here are a few things we hear about
auctions:
* " You don't know where that stuff
is coming from. "
* " It's just a place for growers to sell
their seconds. "
* " You can't make any money
selling at the auction. "
To that last point, simply loading up
the truck and bringing your produce to
auction and hoping it sells well is not
auction, visit the auction, and understand
how quantities of produce are sold. For
example, tomatoes are sold by the box in
ten-pound boxes. Asparagus might be
sold loose in a box by the pound or in
three quarter-pound bunches.
Talk with the growers and auction
personnel to find out what products the
auction is short on. Auctions usually take
a percentage of the sale for their costs.
What is the percentage?
Once you decide to sell through the
auction, get a seller number from the
office. That number will stay with you
and will be on the products you bring to
auction. Over time, this is how buyers will
come to identify your farm and products.
Consistency
To be successful you must be
consistent. Committing to a consistent
supply of products so as buyers get to
know you, they can rely on the fact
that you will be there every week.
Be consistent with bringing quality
Photo: Brian Moyer
produce. Like any market channel,
you are building your reputation every
auction day.
Consistency is how you make a profit
over the season. Just like any market
channel, success takes time and time
takes commitment.
What if there is a glut of
produce?
At some point in the season, there
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is a glut of produce at the auction and
yes, prices will reflect that. It is best to
evaluate the auction by looking at the
entire season and not focusing on any
single point. It's like watching the stock
market. A financial advisor will tell you
that if you are invested in the market for
long-term gain, don't focus on what the
market does today. The same can be said
of produce auctions.
Growers I spoke with told me they
expect a three- to four-week period
during the season where prices
drop - usually at the height of the
season. One grower said he goes on
vacation in August! This grower focuses
his production on early season and
late or extended season production to
minimize being affected by low prices
during peak season.
Growers who sell through a produce
auction say they know that whatever they
bring to the auction each week will be sold
which means the grower isn't stuck with
unsold produce and selling through the
auction allows them more time to farm
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July 2022

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