A farm stand sells what the farm grows at full retail price, with no market fees and no driving, which is why its margin is wide: vegetables keep about $70 of every $100 after seed, inputs and picking. A self-serve stand also saves the wages of someone sitting at it, at the cost of an honor box that comes up a little short. Neighbors' baked goods and jam on consignment fill the shelves and keep a smaller share. The plan is a season: May to October. In the example, an Indiana farm stand starts with $8,800, ends its first year about $21,600 ahead before the owner's pay, and makes about $2,600 a month at full speed. Below is each part of the plan, the first year month by month, the startup budget, and a free template.
The short version
- Describe the stand in a paragraph: the road, what you grow, the goals.
- Cost each category per $100: seed and inputs, picking, containers, shrink.
- Plan sales by category: vegetables, sweet corn, eggs, consigned goods.
- Self-serve saves wages; the honor box comes up a little short.
- Consignment fills the shelves without buying stock.
- Plan for a season, not a year.
- TaroStack keeps each harvest as a lot, and each order's lots on record. More below.
Part 1: the business description
Mill Creek Farm, a made-up vegetable farm in Bloomington, Indiana, writes:
Mill Creek Farm grows vegetables and sweet corn on six acres outside Bloomington and sells them at a self-serve stand by the road, with eggs from its hens and a shelf of neighbors' bread and jam on consignment. In a summer month it aims to take in $4,800.
Part 2: what $100 of sales costs
| Category | Seed, inputs and goods | Picking and packing | Containers and shrink | Cost | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | $12.00 | $12.00 | $6.00 | $30.00 | 70.0% |
| Sweet corn | $14.00 | $14.00 | $7.00 | $35.00 | 65.0% |
| Eggs | $32.00 | $6.00 | $7.00 | $45.00 | 55.0% |
| Neighbors' goods on consignment | $70.00 | $5.00 | $75.00 | 25.0% |
Shrink includes what the honor box comes up short and produce that wilts before it sells. For consigned goods, the "goods" column is the neighbor's share, paid weekly. Setting the prices is in farm stand prices.
Part 3: the stand, the honor box and the season
The stand opens at dawn and is restocked twice a day. Customers pay in a locked cash box or with a card reader on a phone stand; the farm counts what left the stand against what was paid each evening. Sweet corn in July and August is the stand's best month. A shop that's staffed and open all year is in farm store business plan.
Part 4: what each category earns
| Category | Sales | Variable cost | Contribution | Margin | Hundreds a month at full speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | $100.00 | $30.00 | $70.00 | 70% | 25 |
| Sweet corn | $100.00 | $35.00 | $65.00 | 65% | 12 |
| Eggs | $100.00 | $45.00 | $55.00 | 55% | 5 |
| Neighbors' goods on consignment | $100.00 | $75.00 | $25.00 | 25% | 6 |
At full speed the business sells $4,800 a month and keeps $2,955, 61.6%; vegetables bring $1,750 of it.
Part 5: the first year, month by month
Fixed costs are $330 every month: stand upkeep and signs ($130), cooler power ($80), insurance ($60), and other costs ($60). Sales start at 35% of full speed:
| Month | Sales | Profit | Cash, year to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,700 | $720 | $720 |
| 2 | $2,100 | $950 | $1,670 |
| 3 | $2,300 | $1,085 | $2,755 |
| 4 | $2,700 | $1,345 | $4,100 |
| 5 | $3,100 | $1,575 | $5,675 |
| 6 | $3,400 | $1,770 | $7,445 |
| 7 | $3,700 | $1,930 | $9,375 |
| 8 | $4,000 | $2,135 | $11,510 |
| 9 | $4,400 | $2,395 | $13,905 |
| 10 | $4,600 | $2,490 | $16,395 |
| 11 | $4,800 | $2,625 | $19,020 |
| 12 | $4,800 | $2,625 | $21,645 |
The year's sales are $41,600, and the business ends it $21,645 ahead, before the owner's pay. It breaks even at about $540 of sales a month, in the first month. The lowest cash point, $720 in month 1, never goes below zero. The plan treats every month like a summer month once it's built up; a real stand opens in May and closes in October, so the year is about six of these months.
Part 6: the startup budget
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Stand building | $4,000 |
| Cooler | $1,500 |
| Shelving | $500 |
| Signs | $300 |
| Lockbox and card reader | $300 |
| Scale | $200 |
| Working cash | $2,000 |
| Total to start | $8,800 |
The $6,800 before working cash is earned back in about 3 months at full speed. A farm that sells at markets instead is in market garden business plan, and pick-your-own in u pick farm business plan.
Get the template
Download the farm stand business plan workbook. Four sheets: your categories, each per $100 of sales with its variable cost and hundreds a month at full speed; the first year, month by month, with sales ramping up, profit, cash, the first profitable month, the lowest cash point and whether the working cash covers it; your fixed costs; and the startup budget. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The plan uses one shrink share. Some weeks the honor box is short by more, the tomatoes come in all at once, and nobody counts what the consigners are owed until Sunday night.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each day's harvest as a lot, counts what left the stand, and what each consigner is owed.
Each harvest a lot. Each day's picking goes in as a lot, so what was put out and what came back are on record.
Counts with no signal. The stand and the cooler can be counted on a phone with no signal, so what left the stand can be checked against what was paid.
Shrink with a reason. Produce that wilted and the honor box's shortfall are recorded with their reasons, so the shrink shows by item.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What left the stand today | A guess | Counted against the morning's lots |
| What wilted | Not recorded | Shrink by reason and item |
| What the honor box missed | Shrugged off | Recorded as lost |
Lots, counts and shrink reports are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.