A true profitability analysis can be expressed as: gross sales – expenses = profit. This is a disarmingly simple equation that requires a huge amount of information in order to produce a valid outcome. It can be reasonably easy to work through for single crops grown on large areas but can be particularly difficult for growers running a box scheme or supporting a CSA. A group of American organic growers in a project in Wisconsin worked on the basis of net cash income which meant knowing ‘how much cash they had at the end of the season to provide for themselves and their households—and perhaps take a vacation.’
