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New Guinea Impatiens - Bare Rooted and Plug Seedling
Greenhouse Costs of Production Budget

Table 12. Seedling production costs for New Guinea impatiens.

  Conventional Plug
  Small Med. Large Small Med. Large
             
Seeds1 $44.40 $36.08 $27.75 $23.04 $18.72 $14.40
Tray2 0.47 0.42  0.38 0.59 0.32 0.47
Growing medium 0.46 0.42 0.37 0.15 0.14 0.14
Labor 0.55 0.61 0.46 0.48 0.60 0.37
Interest on variable costs3 2.06 1.69 1.30 1.09 0.89 0.69
Overhead costs4  0.66 0.49 0.47 2.30 1.70 1.63
             
Total per flat $48.60 $39.70 $30.73 $27.65 $22.37 $17.70
             
Total per seedling $0.10 $0.08 $0.06 $0.11 $0.09 $0.07
1. 555 seeds planted per conventional flat and 288 per plug flat. Germination rate is assumed to be 90%.
2. Cost of tray, medium, and labor from Brumfield, R.G., 1994. Cost Accounting. In: Bedding Plants IV. Geo. J. Ball, Inc., West Chicago, IL. (In press).
3. Interest rate is assumed to be 9% for 6 months.
4. Overhead costs are calculated using $0.200, $0.148, and $0.142 per square foot-week, respectively for small, medium, and large greenhouses. It is assumed that a flat uses 1.64 square feet x 2 weeks for bare root seedling flats and 7 weeks for plug flats.

 

Table 13. Finished flat production costs using grower produced plugs.
 

  Bare-rooted Plug Produced in 288-cell Tray 
  Small  Med. Large Small  Med.  Large
            Non-auto  Auto 
Variable costs              
Seedings1 $3.50 $2.86 $2.21 $3.84  $3.11 $2.46 $2.46
Flat2 0.47 0.42 0.38 0.47 0.42 0.38 0.38
Insert 0.29 0.25 0.23 0.29 0.25 0.23 0.23
Rooting medium 0.37 0.36 0.35 0.37 0.36 0.35 0.35
Label 0.15 0.13 0.12 0.15  0.13 0.12 0.12
Fertilizer 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02
Pesticide 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Labor 0.85 0.87 0.65  0.50 0.69 0.58 0.38
Interest on variable cost 0.26 0.22 0.18 $0.25 $0.22 $0.19 $0.18
               
Total variable costs $5.93 $5.14 $4.15  $5.91 $5.21 $4.34 $4.13
Overhead costs3 3.61 2.67 2.56 1.97 1.46 1.40 1.40
Loss allocation4 0.50 0.41 0.35 0.41 0.35 0.30 0.29
Total per flat  $10.03 $8.22 $7.06 $8.30 $7.02 $6.04 $5.82 
1. 36 seedlings per finished flat.
2. Costs other than seedings were obtained from Brumfield, R.G. 1994. Cost Accounting. In: Bedding Plants IV. Geo. J. Ball, Inc., West Chicago, IL. (In press).
3. Overhead costs are calculated at $0.200, $0.048, and $0.142 per square foot-bench-week for small, medium, and large greenhouses respectively. It is assumed that a flat uses 1.64 square feet of bench area per week and production takes 11 weeks for barerooted flats and 6 weeks for plug flats.
4. Based on a 5% loss.

 

Table 14. Finished flat production costs using purchased plugs in 288-cell tray
 

 
Greenhouse Size
  Small Medium Large
      Non-auto Auto
Variable costs        
Seedlings1 $6.01 $5.19 $5.00 $5.00
Flat 0.47 0.42 0.38 0.38
Insert 0.29 0.25 0.23 0.23
Rooting medium 0.37 0.36 0.35 0.35
Labels 0.15 0.13 0.12 0.12
Fertilizer 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02
Pesticide 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Labor 0.50 0.69 0.58 0.38
Interest on variable costs 0.35 0.32 0.30 0.29
         
Total variable costs $8.18 $7.39 $7.99 $6.78
Overhead costs2 1.97 1.46 1.40 1.40
Loss allocation3 0.53 0.47 0.44 0.43
Total per flat  $11.68 $9.31 $8.83 $8.61

1 36 seedlings per finished flat.
2 Overhead costs are calculated at $0.200, $0.148, and $0.142 per square foot-bench-week for small, medium, and large greenhouses, respectively. It is assumed that a flat uses 1.64 square feet of bench area per week and production takes 6 weeks for flats using plugs from a 288-cell tray.
3 Based on a 5% loss.

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