July 2022 - 18

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
Strategies for selling at produce auctions
BRIAN MOYER
Penn State Extension
bfm3@psu.edu
channel, you are building your reputation
every auction day.
Consistency is how you make a profit
over the season. Just like any market
channel, success takes time and time
takes commitment.
Agriculture is a subculture of
our society. Produce auctions are a
subculture of agriculture and are not
always fully understood by folks working
in the food system.
I and two Extension colleagues are
part of a two-year Specialty Crop Block
Grant study on produce auctions. One
of the goals of the grant is to educate
potential buyers and sellers and to
dispel some of the myths about produce
auctions.
Here are a few things we hear about
auctions:
* " You don't know where that stuff
is coming from. "
* " It's just a place for growers to sell
their seconds. "
* " You can't make any money
selling at the auction. "
To that last point, simply loading up
the truck and bringing your produce to
auction and hoping it sells well is not
a strategy for success. Like any market
Photo: Brian Moyer
channel, one needs to be strategic
about selling at auction.
Talk to Someone
Before you bring any product
to auction, visit the auction, and
understand how quantities of produce
are sold. For example, tomatoes are
sold by the box in ten-pound boxes.
Asparagus might be sold loose in a
box by the pound or in three quarterpound
bunches.
Talk with the growers and auction
personnel to find out what products the
auction is short on. Auctions usually take
a percentage of the sale for their costs.
What is the percentage?
Once you decide to sell through the
auction, get a seller number from the
office. That number will stay with you
and will be on the products you bring
to auction. Over time, this is how
buyers will come to identify your farm
and products.
Consistency
To be successful you must be consistent.
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Committing to a consistent supply of
products so as buyers get to know you,
they can rely on the fact that you will
be there every week. Be consistent with
bringing quality produce. Like any market
What if there is a glut of
produce?
At some point in the season, there
is a glut of produce at the auction and
yes, prices will reflect that. It is best to
evaluate the auction by looking at the
entire season and not focusing on any
single point. It's like watching the stock
market. A financial advisor will tell you
that if you are invested in the market
for long-term gain, don't focus on what
the market does today. The same can be
said of produce auctions.
Growers I spoke with told me they
expect a three- to four-week period
during the season where prices
drop - usually at the height of the
season. One grower said he goes
on vacation in August! This grower
focuses his production on early season
and late or extended season production
to minimize being affected by low
prices during peak season.
Growers who sell through a produce
auction say they know that whatever
they bring to the auction each week will
be sold which means the grower isn't
stuck with unsold produce and selling
through the auction allows them more
time to farm and less time spent on
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July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2022
