How does your horticultural business compare with others in the industry? Cornell's horticultural business analysis programs for greenhouses and fruit farms can help you find the answers.

Cornell University is again offering business analysis service - The Greenhouse Business Summary Program - for greenhouse operations. The purpose of this program is to help greenhouse operators evaluate the financial performance of a business in relation to industry standards and use this information to improve their business's bottom line, and to help them make informed management decisions (pricing, investment, business changes, etc.).

This program is FREE to NY greenhouse growers in 2006 and 2007 and is funded by a grant from the NY Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI). A Cornell greenhouse business specialist will work with the greenhouse operator to conduct a profitability analysis for the business. The business will receive a customized financial analysis report and a performance comparison with others in the industry.

All information about individual businesses will be kept strictly confidential.

Project Goals

1. Financial management education
2. Establish industry benchmarkes
3. Study industry competitiveness

Participating in the Greenhouse Business Summary Program will help you answer questions about:

1. Your operation's financial health
2. Your operation's efficiency (production, labor, costs, etc.)
3. How your business compares to others in the industry
4. How you can improve profitability

As a participant in the Greenhouse Business Summary Program, you will receive:

To participate in the Greenhouse Business Summary Program, you will need:

• Records of cash receipts and expenses
• Asset inventory (plants; supplies; machinery/equipment; land/buildings; accounts payable and receivable; etc.)
• General business information (labor, production area, etc.)
• On average, 2 hours of consuting time

How do you sign up to participate in the program?

To participate, complete the Request to Participate form and return it to one of the program leaders listed below, or contact them via email or phone. You will be contacted to schedule a consultation time. You may download the Greenhouse Business Analysis Input Forms (pdf, 55k) and the User Guide (pdf, 29k) to help you prepare for your meeting.

Program Leaders

Wen-fei Uva, Senior Extension Associate, Department of Applied Economic and Management, Cornell University, at 607-255-3688 or wl32@cornell.edu

Walt Nelson , Hort. Extension Specialist, SCNY, Cornell Cooperative Extension-Chemung Co., 425 Pennsylvania Ave., Elmira, NY 14904-1766, at 607-734-4453 or wnn1@cornell.edu

Recent Greenhouse Business Summary Publications

Greenhouse Enterprise Budget

The Excel spreadsheet below can help business owners/managers answer questions like:

• What is your cost of production for each crop enterprise?
• What is your profit/loss from each crop?
• Should you raise a particular crop?
• What is each crop's contribution to fixed costs?
• What is your optimal product mix?

Fruit Farm Business Analysis Program