By the Numbers: Our 2018 Farm Season Summary
by
Nina Berryman, Weavers Way Farm Manager
Photos by Lauren Todd
Many people know me as a farmer who is passionate about local food, environmental stewardship and community engagement. What many don’t know is that I’m also passionate about record keeping. As a farmer, I want to be able to look back on past years and know what happened, where, when and why — preferably all in a spreadsheet, if possible. I know no better way to prepare for the future than to analyze trends from the past. As with every year on the farm, 2018 was full of lessons learned that will inform our next approach, as well as carefully calculated successes that we aim to repeat.
2018 Summary as compared to 2017: Total sales were $253,517 (2017: $235,474). Our sales from farm product decreased 8 percent. Our sales of non-farm product at the farm market increased 47 percent. Our orchard sales increased 47 percent. We increased our staff and volunteer labor hours by 7 percent. Our harvest weights decreased by 23.5 percent.
Harvest Pounds: 39,414 (23.5% decrease from 2017: 51,506 lbs.)
Sales of Farm Product by Outlet: $156,102 total
| Henry Got Crops CSA: | $98,404.00 - 62% of total (2017: 54.4%) |
| Co-op Departments: | $31,173.00 -20% of total (2017: 28.7%) |
| Henry Got Crops Farm Market, farm produce: | $26,966.00 -17% of total (2017:14.6%) |
| Wholesale Outlets: | $1013.00 -1% of total (2017: 2.3 %) |
Sales of Non-Farm Product sold at Farm Market: $95,952, after discounts (2017: $68,047)
2018 Orchard Crops: $2,680 (2017: $1,814)
| Blackberries | $802 |
| Hazelnuts | $823 |
| Paw Paws | $1045 |
Top Ten Produce Products in 2018
| Cooking Greens* | $27,885.48 |
| Salad Greens** | $18,457.60 |
| Tomatoes | $17,531.41 |
| Carrots | $5,427.00 |
| Lettuce, heads | $4,234.65 |
| Squash, summer | $4,227.63 |
| Pepper, sweet | $4,107.50 |
| Cucumber | $3,986.07 |
| Onion | $3,313.16 |
| Leek | $2,819.50 |
*Cooking Greens: Bok Choi, Chard, Collard Greens, Dandelion Greens, Kale, Mustard, Tat Soi, Escarole
**Salad greens: Arugula, Kale (baby), Lettuce, Mix Leaf, Mesclun, Pea Shoots, Spinach
Total number of produce items sold: Approximately 65 annual vegetables, 35 herbs, fruits, flowers
Labor Hours:
| Farm Staff Hours: | 12,153 (a 5% increase over 2017: 11,487) |
| Farm Market Staff Hours: | 1,697 (a 100% increase over 2017: 849) |
| Volunteer Hours: | 2,306 (a 14% increase over 2017: 2,021) |
Data collected and analyzed by Nancy Anderson
