100 



When we compare the cost of horticultural production to the 

 cost of traditional program crops it quickly becomes evident 

 that an individual horticultural producer's per acre loss is 

 staggering by comparison. Iowa State University Cooperative 

 Extension estimates the average total cost of production on a 

 single acre of field corn is $307 if oorn production follows 

 a year of corn production. 



The losses from the flood are even greater when addressing 

 perennial horticultural crop issues. This would include such 

 areas of production as apples, strawberries, Christmas trees, 

 shrubs, ornamental trees, and sod. Under normal conditions 

 perennial crops producers continually invest time and money 

 over several years prior to ever realising any return on 

 their investment. A horticultural producer is well aware 

 that not all perennial plants will survive from year to year, 

 as such the producer plans accordingly by calculating in 

 average mortality as a normal cost of doing business. 

 However, the perennial crop losses from this summer's flood 

 totally devastated entire acres of perennial plant materials 

 that were at or close to marketable size or full crop bearing 

 size. in some cases this involved 7 to 10 year old trees. 

 The loss of a perennial crop is further compounded in that 

 reestablishing lost size does not come easy. It takes an 

 equal number of years, as that previously invested and 

 without income, to attain the age of plant that was lost. 



Another major issue facing horticultural producers, as a 

 reeult of crop loss from the floods, is in regards to the 

 long term damage to previously established markets. It takes 

 years to establish a solid customer base and even one year 

 without product to supply the market forces customers to go 

 elsewhere. one single year of being out of the market can 

 take years to overcome. This greatly contrasts with 

 traditional grain crops, in which absence of an crop from a 

 single producer in a given year goes virtually unnoticed. 



Approximately three-fourths of all horticultural production 

 in Iowa is marketed directly to consumers through farmers 

 markets, roadside stands, and u-pick operations. This is due 

 to the lower capital investments and lower operational cost 

 required of these marketing approaches. This is essential 

 due to the small size of Iowa's horticultural operations, 

 most of which are small family farms, not large operations 

 that can benefit from economies of scale. Therefore lower 

 volumes rely on a higher per unit direct market price in 

 order to allow an operation to have a positive cashflow. 



Iowa's horticultural sector is relatively small by comparison 

 to the state's traditional row cropping, but it has been the 

 fastest growing segment of our agricultural industry since 

 the early 80' s. This growth can partially be attributed to 

 the Farm Crisis and the desire of many to find new sources of 

 income while maintaining some tie to the land. 



