State of the Produce Industry: A look at the industry

Back in February, we shared part of a research study that we conducted in partnership with Nufarm about the State of the Tomato. If you missed it, you can see it at bit.ly/1GdpizW. Four hundred thirty produce growers responded with information not just about the tomato-growing portion of their business, but also shared what else they grow, how they grow it and areas of expansion. We didn’t have enough room to fit in all of the great information that we gathered, so this month we’re sharing the rest of that research with you as part of our own mini State of the Produce Industry Report.

Note that we’re repeating a few of the demographics charts for those who may not have read the previous report.
 

How we did it

Data was collected via online survey designed jointly by Produce Grower and Readex Research from Dec. 15 to 29, 2014. The survey was closed for tabulation with 430 total responses. Part of the results were published in the February issue of Produce Grower.

Crops and Production

Tomatoes, cucumbers, hot and sweet peppers regularly top the list of most popular edibles to grow. But what kinds are Produce Grower readers growing? Slicers, cherry and heirloom tomatoes topped the list of types of tomatoes grown, as we previously shared, and here are the results for the other top crops.

Pest and disease issues

Growing produce is not without its challenges, and pest and disease problems are among the most difficult.

Customer base