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Practical economics
The steps in this tutorial give you a good handle on the practical economics of your organic enterprise. These are critical tools to help you test what you are doing with the best markets you can find. If you don't find a match, you have to change markets, prices or products to get there. For instance, if your local farmers market doesn't value your hot pepper collection at a price point that is profitable, you may want to consider traveling farther to a larger market where demand is stronger.
To calculate your organic financial advantage, you need to incorporate the additional savings (or costs) of organic production into an enterprise budget for your whole farm. Consider production, harvest, post-harvest handling and packaging compared with what you would be doing if you weren't organic—for the same crop, or for a different crop on the same land base. Also figure in your cost of organic certification, specialized transportation and any additional marketing work required.
The net result of these figures may change dramatically through your conversion years. Figure your annual steps conservatively, so you can reach your five-year projection even if things prove more challenging than you expect. Once you arrive at these figures for the monetary difference, weigh them with your other reasons for wanting to go organic in order to make your final decisions.
Remember, no matte how well you plan, you'll probabaly need to make adjustments along the way. Work with your family and other partners to decide what you want most from your organic farming operation. Work together to track progress and goals from year to year to find out if you are sustaining the land, people and community in the ways you care about the most.
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 You may be able to fetch more per pound for microgreens than for the full-size product, but if your packaging costs or losses to waste are too high, it could be a wash. (Photo: TRI)
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