A group of EFAO farmers came together in 2024 to dig deep on farm financials and get transparent on the profit potential for ecological vegetable production. Their meeting sparked a new pilot benchmarking study at EFAO, with the goal to expand collective knowledge of the factors that influence the financial resilience of ecological farms. 

Join this session to learn about the use of financial benchmarks in supporting small-scale ecological farm viability. Speakers will share the results of a benchmarking study by PASA which inspired similar conversations at EFAO, and common challenges and tips for participating in benchmarking studies.  We hope that participants will leave with enthusiasm for this important area of research and next steps for participating in EFAO’s study.

This session kicks off Finance February, an EFAO webinar series focused on supporting farm financial viability with practical skills and knowledge. Check out the EFAO Events page for more information.

A Zoom link will be sent to all registered participants.

About the speakers:

Angie Koch‘s passion for vegetable production is rivalled only by her passion for spreadsheets and profitability analyses – a point of both pride and discomfort. She is excited by the potential to better understand the factors that contribute to farm viability and financial resilience.

John Hendrickson coordinates research and training programs in organic and sustainable specialty crop production, marketing, and profitability at the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focuses on the economics and profitability of fresh market vegetable farming. He is particularly passionate about farm viability as it relates to farm scale, livelihood, labor, and equipment.

Michael Guerci is a research coordinator at Pasa Sustainable Agriculture. He primarily coordinates and advocates for Pasa’s Financial Benchmark Study and Soil Health Benchmark Study. Prior to joining Pasa, he worked on diversified vegetable farms for many years. He also holds a Master’s in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech and volunteered for the Peace Corps in the Philippines.

Heather Newman works at EFAO as Research Coordinator, supporting the team in the pilot year of the vegetable benchmark study.  She grew up farming on an organic mixed farm in Bruce County. After completing her BSc at the University of Waterloo, Heather returned home to raise a family. As her family grew so did her own farm and food business. Heather is passionate about growing heritage varieties in an ecologically conscientious way, growing the local food economy and creating unique, delicious food products from local ingredients through her co-owned food company, Two Birds One Stone.