May/June 2024 - 14

FARM MARKET
produce sells for in grocery stores, "
Moyer said. " Farm Markets need to
focus on freshness and quality, which
rank as number one concerns in
consumer surveys. Price is usually
lower on the list of concerns. "
Most sell produce by per-pound
(69%), pint (38%), piece (37%), bushel
(34%) and peck (31%), in the multiple
options responses.
Profits baked in
Half of respondents sell cider while
34% offer baked goods. For a majority
of markets, baked goods constitute
6% to 25% of overall market sales.
Doughnuts are the biggest selling
Phillip's Orchards & Cider
Mill highlights varieties on
its signage. Photo by
Debbie Eisele.
bakery item (54%), followed by pies
(15%), cookies (10%), cakes and
muffins (3% each) with " other " at
15%. Most dozen doughnuts are sold
for $9-$20 while pies fetch $18-$30
(43%) with others listing $10-$17.99.
Most market a gallon of cider for
$6-$8 with others at $10-$12.
Blackberries, red raspberries,
black raspberries and sweet corn
are the top commodities bringing
the highest average per-pound
prices for conventionally grown
items that are already picked. For
conventionally grown pick-your-own
items, it's blackberries, cherries
and red raspberries.
Apple varieties fetching premium
prices include Honeycrisps, EverCrisps,
CandyCrisps and SweeTangos.
Heirloom tomatoes, white and donut
peaches, Providence sweet corn,
Honeoye strawberries and white
pumpkins are also price standouts.
While organics are an important
part of many markets, less than a
quarter of respondents said they
offer organic produce. For those who
merchandise organics, 39% stated the
category accounts for more than half
of market sales. For a majority that
sell organics, however, the segment
contributes a wide range of scales,
from 5% to 30% of total sales.
MODEL 912 MULCH
TRANSPLANTER
* Gentle: Sorts by size without bruising peaches, apples, mushrooms
and fresh tomatoes.
* Accurate: Precisely grades grape tomatoes, cherries, nuts and small
berries, maintaining that accuracy for larger products including
cantaloupes and pineapple.
* Sets plants through plastic mulch
* Water system available
* For cells or plugs up to 2-1/2 " in diameter
* No more setting plants in wet, cold mud by hand
* Twin row available for row spacing as close as 12 "
* Plant spacing starts at 10 " in the row
1150 CENTRAL AVENUE, HOLLAND, MI 49423
Phone: 800-757-5268 or Fax: 616-396-3619
website: www.mechanicaltransplanter.com
e-mail: mtc@mechanicaltransplanter.com
14 | MAY/JUNE 2024
* Fast: Thirteen standard models custom-designed to meet your needs.
Sort from 1,000 lbs./hr to 150,000 lbs./hr.
* Simple: Effective but simple design provides a rugged, low cost, low
maintenance machine at a high value to our customers. It can even be
used in the field!
* Versatile: Specialized rollers allow for accurate sizing of round products
(potatoes, onions and citrus), long products (carrots, russets and
cucumbers) and irregular products (bell peppers, jalapenos and garlic.
KERIAN MACHINES INC.
1709 Hwy 81 S, P.O. Box 311, Grafton, N.D. 58237
Phone: (701) 352-0480 * Fax: (701) 352-3776
Web site: www.kerian.com * E-Mail: sales@kerian.com
http://www.mechanicaltransplanter.com http://www.kerian.com
May/June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2024
