A simple computer program has been developed to assist vegetable growers with making decisions about what to grow based on an analysis of potential income and likely operating costs.
This grower-friendly tool has been distributed to the vegetable industry by the VegBIZ project VG08021.
The program allows growers to enter estimated yields, prices and input costs in familiar units, without having to convert everything into per-hectare values, to arrive at a gross margin. Users can decide on the level of accuracy, but it is envisaged that the main use of the tool will be to conduct relatively simple comparisons of different crop production scenarios.
In the interest of keeping it simple, no more than 10 input cost categories are included. They are Seed & Plants, Fertiliser, Fuel, Chemicals, Water, Labour, Electricity/Gas, Packaging, Freight/Transport and Other Operating Costs.
To learn more about the program and what is involved in downloading it, click on the VegTool Manual link below. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the manual.
Download Files:
Installation instructions:
- Click the Veg Tool for full or runtime version of Access 2007 link.
- Save the zip file and after it downloads, “extract” the files to your computer with WinZip (most computers with the Windows operating system should have this program but if not, it can be downloaded free here. Further instructions on this process can be found in the manual.
- Run the setup file and follow installation instructions.
Project information
R & D Provider: NSW Department of Primary Industries
Project Number: VG08021
Project Duration: 01/01/2009 - 18/07/2012
| This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the vegetable research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture. |  |