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SAgricultural Research & Education Center
IFAS, University of Florida
5007 60th Street East
Bradenton, Florida 33508-9324

Bradenton AREC Research Report BRA1983-10 April 1983

STRAWBERRY BUDGET ANALYSIS FOR WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA

J. W. Prevatt1

The 1982-83 crop year appears to be another year of belt tightening and
corner cutting for strawberry producers. Presently, it is something less than
a secret that things are tough, and without some drastic improvements in the
economy, they will remain tough this year. However, the prospects of a mod-
erate economic recovery during 1983 offer some"-e4couragement for an improvement
in the demand for agricultural products.

Regardless of what economic conditions develop, an enterprise budget is
a prerequisite for equipping a grower with the necessary information about
his operation for making decisions. Estimating strawberry operating and
ownership costs is a necessary management tool that will aid growers in making
many financial decisions. The development of this information enables growers
to estimate cost projections which may be used to plan credit needs before
planting the crop. Expected yields and production costs can be used to
evaluate marketing alternatives and break-even prices. A grower can compare
projected costs to records from previous crops to determine business perform-
ance and aid in planning future crops. In addition, enterprise budgets are
extremely useful when identifying cost items that may be reduced and/or more
effectively utilized.

Florida strawberry production acreage has fluctuated greatly during the
last two decades (Table 1). Currently, the total area planted to strawberries
in Florida for commercial production is among the highest ever. Resulting
from the increased number of acres being produced and the research and tech-
nological advances that have been realized in yield, the total number of flats
produced during 1981-82 surpassed 8 million (Fig. 1).

The value of Florida strawberries exceeded $52 million during the 1981-82
production season (this figure does not include processed and U-pick revenues).
The average value per flat during the last decade has varied between approx-
imately $4 and $7 per flat (Fig. 2).

The estimated operating and ownership costs per acre for strawberry
production in west central Florida during 1982-83 are reported in Table 2.
This information was developed with the assistance of participating growers,
extension specialists and researchers. Although an effort was made to
insure the accuracy of these budgets, the fact remains that individual
producers can do things differently (sometimes substantially). Because
of the wide variation of alternative inputs, locations and production
systems, it is important for each grower to develop his own budgets and
understand how to utilize them when making management decisions.

1Farm Management Economist

Estimated break-even prices to cover operating and ownership costs
were calculated for strawberry production during 1982-83, as shown in
Table 3. These break-even prices were computed by dividing the appropriate
costs by the estimated saleable yield. The break-even prices describe the
price per flat necessary to cover the various production costs associated
with a particular level of yield. Growers who estimate production costs
and yield will have the information necessary to make timely financial
decisions and evaluate marketing alternatives as they develop.

Table 1. Strawberries: acre, production, and value,
1960-61 through 1980-81.*

Florida, crop years

Yield Value
Crop Acreage per per Total
year planted harvested acre Production flat value
--- (Acres)------ (Flats)** (L,000 Flats) -($)- ($1,000)

1960-61 1,900 1,800

1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70
1970-71
1971-72
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81
1981-82

* Source:

2,000
2,100
2,800
3,400
2,400
2,100
1,900
1,600
1,800
1,600
1,600
1,400
1,300
1,200
1,400
1,500
2,000
2,400
2,500
3,200
5,000

1,900
2,000
2,700
3,300
2,300
2,000
1,900
1,600
1,800
1,600
1,600
1,400
1,300
1,200
1,400
1,500
2,000
2,400
2,500
3,200
5,000

400
592
692
667
692
757
734
667
833
667
917
1,042
1,125
1,128
1,375
1,250
1,211
1,209
1,333
1,583
1,750
1,625

820
1,280
1,492
1,983
2,134
1,742
1,4674-'
1,267
1,333
1,200
1,467
1,667
1,575
1,467
1,650
1,750
1,817
2,417
3,200
3,958
5,600
8,125

Florida Agricultural Statistics: Vegetable

Summary, Florida Crop

and Livestock Reporting Service.

**12 pints.

3.75
4.06
3.95
4.06
3.78
3.97
3.95
3.46
3.91
5.53
4.19
3.79
5.16
4.57
5.08
5.06
4.93
6.89
6.92
7.06
4.98
6.44

2,812
4,740
5,683
7,455
7,678
6,918
5,790
4,378
5,216
4,234
6,142
6,320
8,127
6,706
8,375
8,862
8,960
16,646
22,157
27,930
27,888
52,358

Product:

Acres

60-61 65-6

Florida Strawberries:

Production/
1,000 flats

S5,500

S5,000

- 4-00

S4,000

S3,500

3,000

2,500

-I_4 -1 I-- 1,
70-71 75-6 80-81

Harvested Acreage and Production
1960-61 1980-81.

Source: Florida Agricultural Statistics: Vegetable
Summary, Florida Crop and Livestock Reporting
Service

Harvested
acreage

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

Figure 1.

2,000

1,500

1,000

Figure 2.

Total Value
$1,000
28000

26000

24000

22000

20000

18000

16000

14000

12000

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

Florida Strawberries: Value 1955-56 1980-81.

Value per
flat

, 7.00

6.00

5.00

4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

Source: Florida Agricultural Statistics: Vegetable Summary,
Florida Crop and Livestock Reporting Service

Table 2. Estimated operating and ownership costs per
central Florida, 1982-831.

acre for strawberry production, west

Quantity

Price/unit
of material

Price/
cross acre

I. Operating Ccsts

Pre-barvest
Dolcmite
Disk
Plant
Sorghum seec
Rotovate
Lay off rows
Press beds
Fertilizer
14-5-14
Fumiaate
Fumigant (MC-33)
Plastic
Labor (tranE-plants)
Transplants
Labor
Cultiv4ate
Spray
Captan (36 .ppl.)
Benlate (16 appl.)
Dibrom (6 arpi.)
Pliciran (6 appl.)
Phosdrin (12 appl.)
Remove plastic (labor)
Irrigation (elec.)
Interest

May
May
June
June
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Nov.-May
Oct.-Apr.

May
Oct.-Apr.
May-Apr.

Ton
Acre
Acre
Pound
Acre
Acre
Acre
Acre
Ton
Acre
Pound
Thou. feet
Hour
Thousand
Hour
Acre
Acre
Pound
Pound
Gallon
Pound
Gallon
Hour
Acre
Dollar

0.33
2.00
1.00
50.00
2.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.50
1.00
175.00
11.00
4.00
23.00
40.00
3.00
36.00
*216.00
16.00
'1.25
-12..00
1.50
4.00
1.00
3,054.75

25.00
9.89
2.90
0.64
9.89
5.80
5.80
5.80
146.00
11.60
0.90
23.58
3.75
45.00
3.75
6.81
3.59
1.56
11.60
48.50
21.50
26.20
3.75
65.00
0.15

8.25
19.78
2.90
32.00
19.78
5.80
5.80
5.80
219.00
11.60
157.50
259.38
15.00
1,035.00
150.00
17.43
129.24
336.96
185.60
60.63
258.00
39.30
15.00
65.00
458.21
$3,512.96

Item

Month

Unit

Table 3. Estimated breakeven prices to cover operating and ownership
costs for strawberry production, west central Florida,
1982-83.

Operating costs Total
Saleable Harvest operating Ownership Total
yield/acre Preharvest & market costs costs costs

Flatsl --------------- Dollars per flat -------------------

1400 2.51 2.85 5.36-' 0.99 6.35

1600 2.20 2.85 5.05 0,87 5.92

1800 1.95 2.85 4.80 0.77 5.57

2000 1.76 2.85 4.61 0.69 5.30

1A flat is composed of 12 pints (10.25 lbs).

Table 2 continued

Harvest

Picking labcr
Labor benefits
Containers
Packing shed labor
Supervision
Transport

NarKeting

marketing charge2

II. Ownership Ccsts/A3

Dec.-Apr.

$/Flat

1.25
0.15
0.65
0.10
0.10
0.10
$2.35

$/Flat

Jan.-Apr.

$0.50

$1,387.00

1The estimated operating and ownership costs described in this table represent a rationalization
among sampled growers, extension specialists and researchers. Individual growers should estimate
their operating and ownership costs, since these costs differ widely among operations.
2Marketing charge is based on handling cost per flat which was approximately 10% of the market price.
3ownerslip costs include depreciation, insurance, repairs, taxes and interest on land and equipment
for strawberry production.