Costs and Returns of Producing Outdoor Cut Flowers

Abstract

Field–grown cut flower production, in general, is a low–overhead business. This is both good news and bad news. Good—because it doesn't require a lot of capital to get started in this business. Bad—because competition can develop rapidly, sometimes from marginal producers for whom profitability is a low priority. Thus, it is important for producers to know the costs of growing each product so that they can make profitable production and marketing decisions. A cost accounting program was developed to help producers calculate the cost of each crop. In addition, a series of benchmark budgets were developed for specialty cut flowers. These budgets are on the Rutgers University Farm Management Website (http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~farmmgmt).