[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-240556-105":53,"doc-detail-240556-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","time-studies-crop-specific-costing-resources-october-2025","Time Studies & Crop Specific Costing Resources - October 2025","","Time Studies & Crop Specific Costing Resources explains how crop-specific production costs drive better farming decisions on pricing, profitability, and crop planning. It emphasizes that labor cost—often exceeding 30% of gross revenue—must be captured with structured time studies to accurately reflect time spent on each crop, including sales effort. The program described uses time studies as the foundation for a multi-crop process that supports informed business choices and long-term sustainability, while addressing data collection barriers through practical guidance and tools.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/time-studies-crop-specific-costing-resources-october-2025/240556/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/time-studies-crop-specific-costing-resources-october-2025/240556.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Eden","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-09-11",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"Why are time studies important for crop-specific costing?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Time studies document the labor time required for tasks, providing one of the most critical inputs for crop-specific production costs. Results help farmers set appropriate prices and make decisions about crop selection and planning.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What is the main barrier to conducting time studies, according to farmers?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"Farmers report the biggest barrier is the time required to collect data. They also want strategies to improve worker buy-in and participation.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How can farmers reduce the effort of collecting time study data?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"The document suggests using practical tools such as Google Forms, printable templates or cards, and various apps that track hours and can export to spreadsheets. It also recommends training crew members and delegating specific time study tasks.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},240556,1791731117,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":76,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":139,"read_time":9},1374391974468,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","October 2025  \nTime Studies & Crop Specific Costing Resources  \nEllie Andrews, UCCE Specialty Crops Advisor for Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties Vince Trotter, UCCE Ombudsperson and Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator  \nBackground  \nQuestions about whether a certain crop is worth growing again or whether a certain sales channel is making you any money boil down to cost of production. Oftentimes, small vegetable growers set their prices based on what they see in the store or at farmers markets, but if they don’t know exactly how much money they’ve sunk into a particular crop (including the effort to sell it), they can inadvertently find themselves losing money, even as they are making regular sales. Knowing your cost of production allows you to set appropriate prices, and it also informs decisions about  \nwhen/whether to drop a crop from the plan, shift sales towards wholesale or retail , and even decide whether a new piece of equipment or additional employees will pencil out.  \nTools like the Know Your Cost to Grow Program are designed to help farmers figure out their cost of production. The most crucial part of this work is figuring out the cost of your labor. For most farms, labor is the largest expense and can account for more than 30% of gross revenue. Knowing how much time goes into every crop is a great place to start in any effort to answer questions about profitability, pricing, and other strategic decisions.  \nSeveral farmers from the North Bay Area have taken the Know Your Cost to Grow course taught by Tanya Murray in collaboration with OSU and Oregon Tilth. Time studies are the foundation of  \nthis training program and online platform which provides multi-crop vegetable farmers with a process to determine their crop-specific costs of production. This program offers a framework to use cost of production information for business decision-making. The goal is to support farmers in using their own farm-specific cost information to make more informed business decisions and help increase profitability and long-term sustainability.  \nA time study is a methodical approach to document labor time required to complete a task. Time studies are just one component (but an important one) of crop-specific production costs. Results from time studies can help inform farmer decisions about cropselection and setting appropriate prices.  \n(Diagram by Tanya Murray, KYCTG)  \nNorth Bay vegetable farmers reported that the main barrier to conducting time studies was the time required to collect data. They expressed interest in hearing success stories from other farmers and strategies to improve worker buy-in and participation in data collection. Farmers noted that crop-specific costing could  \nhelp them educate consumers about what it takes to produce local vegetables and change the conversation about the value of local produce.  \nTips from Farmers &  \nTechnical Service Providers  \nThe following quotes and anecdotes from farmers and technical service providers help provide examples, perspective, and inspiration. These are not meant to serve as instructions, but rather food for thought. All resources mentioned here are shared merely as examples to explore, not endorsements.  \nTime Studies Data Collection  \nYou can use a google form to enter data easily in the field with specific fields and criteria. If you don’t have service, or if you prefer writing things out, you can print out cards or a template to fill out in the field. There are lots of apps that help track productivity and hours. Some are free and user friendly. Most can export to a spreadsheet.  \n-paraphrased from Vince Trotter, Kibo Farm; Susannah Ashkenas , Front Porch Farm; Evie Smith , OSU Extension  \nIt helps to take time to train crewmembers to use the time studies forms and think through efficiencies together. It can be a nice way to bring employees“behind the curtain” of farm economics. The manager can see what they can do to make their job easier, faster, safer, and smoother. ","cbCaimIR7BVEWQqt","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimIR7BVEWQqt","pdf",264172,"English","# Background\n## Time studies and crop-specific costs\n## Program goals and training approach\n# Tips from farmers and technical service providers\n## Time studies data collection\n## Decision support tools\n## Resources for time studies","[{\"question\":\"Why are time studies important for crop-specific costing?\",\"answer\":\"Time studies document the labor time required for tasks, providing one of the most critical inputs for crop-specific production costs. Results help farmers set appropriate prices and make decisions about crop selection and planning.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the main barrier to conducting time studies, according to farmers?\",\"answer\":\"Farmers report the biggest barrier is the time required to collect data. They also want strategies to improve worker buy-in and participation.\"},{\"question\":\"How can farmers reduce the effort of collecting time study data?\",\"answer\":\"The document suggests using practical tools such as Google Forms, printable templates or cards, and various apps that track hours and can export to spreadsheets. It also recommends training crew members and delegating specific time study tasks.\"}]","Time Studies & Crop Specific Costing Resources - October 2025 | PDF",1789162713]