Dr. Ariana Torres recently sat down with host Chad on the How We Grow podcast for an episode titled “The number one reason why crops fail!”
During the interview, Dr. Torres breaks down the business decisions behind specialty crop farming. She highlights why growing the crop is only half the job—the other half is knowing whether the crop, market, labor, technology, and investment decisions actually make financial sense.
Key topics from their conversation include:
- Why horticultural economics is essential for growers.
- How to evaluate profitability, break-even prices, ROI, and payback periods.
- When capital investments (like high tunnels and greenhouses) make sense.
- How growers can use the HORE Calculator to model real financial decisions.
As Dr. Torres notes in the episode: The most expensive decision a grower can make is the one they don’t analyze.
Watch or listen to the full conversation: