> I am looking for resources on the economics of organic production and
> the price of organic foods:
>
> Does USDA collect data?
Good Point! The USDA's principal Terminal Market Reports are divided
price and product-wise into the following classifications: Fruit Report,
Vegetable Report, Onion & Potato Report, Nut Report, Misc Herb Report
and Subtropical F&V Report.
(Other available reports don't cover prices but rather, volume; such as
the Arrivals Report, Package Count Report, Misc Comm Arrivals Report and
the Import Arrivals Report).
The question is: What would it take to convince the USDA that organic
products merit their own catagory in existing Terminal Market Reports?
Alternatively, Organic products could be mentioned separately within the
existing product categorys. A third alternative would be to publish a
special report for one or more U.S. cities, as is now the case for a few
specialty reports (i.e. the National Honey Report out of Yakima, WA).
I believe the usefulness of either of the first two alternatives would
be satisfactory, while the third alternative might not cover geographic
variations sufficiently.
Daily or at least weekly reports (as is the case of the Tropical F & V
Reports) for different geographic areas are clearly needed.
DH
> I am looking for resources on the economics of organic production and
> the price of organic foods:
>
> *costs of organic crop production (enterprise budgets)
> *market prices for farm crops (what can farmers expect to receive)
> *retail cost comparisons between organic and conventional foods (what
> can consumers expect to pay)
>
> Regarding market prices for certified organic crops and produce, so
> far I've found Organic Commodity Price Fax Bulletin (see below)
> published by Organic Food Business News, which reports current
> market prices for organic crops (fresh fruits, vegetable and herbs,
> dairy, grains, beans, and oilseeds) through its weekly fax service.
>
> Organic Food Business News
> Hotline Printing and Publishing
> PO Box 161132
> Altamonte Springs, FL 32716
> 407-628-1377
> 407-628-9935 Fax
> $99 per 12 issues of Organic Food Business News
> $187 per year for Organic Commodity Price Fax Bulletin
High priced!
> Does OMNIS (Organic Market News Information Service) still
> operate? Does USDA collect data?
> It seems that data exists for those who can afford it, but otherwise
> it is inaccessible.
Exactly!
> ==============================================
> Costs of Production for Organic Crops
> ==============================================
> The University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and
> Education Program (UC-SAREP) published studies on the economics of
> several organic horticultural and agronomic cropping systems. To date
> UC-SAREP has completed sample costs to produce organic almonds, wine
> grapes, fresh market apples, tomatoes, vegetables, cotton, walnuts,
> and rice (2). Several studies are on-line at:
>
> http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/sarep/pubs/Costs.htm
>
> Copies of individual reports are available for $10 each through:
>
> Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics
> University of California
> Davis, CA 95616
> Tel. (916) 752-9376
> E-mail: ljtourte@ucdavis.edu (Laura Tourte)
>
> Cultural Practices and Sample Costs for Organic Vegetable Production
> on the Central Coast of California (Giannini Foundation Series No.
> 94-2) is another publication from University of California that
> contains useful information. It is currently out-of-print, but
> photocopies are available for $10.00 through the Department of
> Agricultural & Resource Economics (address listed above).
>
> A portion of this report -- including the abstract and an overview of
> production practices -- is available on the Internet at UC-SAREP's web
> site:
>
> http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/sarep/pubs/prodpractices/productionpractices.htm
>
> ========================================
> Related URL's on Markets and Budgets for Crops
> ========================================
> USDA-generated market prices for fruits and vegetables at 13 major
> terminals are available on the Internet at:
>
> Fruit & Vegetable Reports at University of Kentucky College of Agriculture
> gopher://shelley.ca.uky.edu:70/11/agmkts/market_wire/fruit_vege
>
> New Jersey Department of Agriculture hosts a web site with terminal
> and shipping reports for horticultural crops (fruits, vegetables, onion and
> potato, ornamental and floriculture, herbs) at:
>
> AERDI ON-LINE INFORMATION NETWORK
> http://aesop.rutgers.edu/www/aerdi/
>
> FBMInet-BC, The Farm Business Management Information Network has
> on-line enterprise budgets on a broad selection of horticultural crops.
> FBMInet-BC is a joint initiative of the British Columbia Ministry of
> Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Canadian Farm Business
> Management Council.
>
> Planning for Profit Enterprise Budgets
> http://FBMInet.ca/bc/budget.htm
>
> =============================================
> Steve Diver
> ATTRA
> =============================================
>
> --
> steved@ncatark.uark.edu
>
> To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
> To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
> "subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
--Douglas M. Hinds, Director General Centro para el Desarrollo Comunitario y Rural A.C. (CeDeCoR) (Center for Community and Rural Development) - (non profit) Petronilo Lopez No. 73 (Street Address) Apdo. Postal No. 61 (Mailing Address) Cd. Guzman, Jalisco 49000 MEXICO U.S. Voice Mailbox: 1 630 300 0550 (e-mail linked) U.S. Fax Mailbox: 1 630 300 0555 (e-mail linked) Tel. & Fax: 011 523 412 6308 (direct) e-mail: cedecor@ipnet.com.mx, dmhinds@acnet.net, dhinds@.ucol.mx
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest".