BAU Farm Intelligence

Regional Benchmarking

USDA Zones 7–9 benchmarks, with the receipts

Yield, price, season length, and sustainability benchmarks for USDA hardiness zones 7, 8, and 9 — each one published with its dataset, link, sample, and formula. Every figure below carries its exact dataset title, a direct link, the publication year, the geography, the crop definition, the sample, the formula, and whether it is observed, modeled, or estimated.

Zones 7 · 8 · 95 metrics published

How to read these numbers

  • Observed — reported directly by the cited dataset (NOAA station normals, USDA AMS terminal reports).
  • Modeled — output of a published model, or arithmetic on two other cited figures.
  • Estimated — derived with a judgement call, such as one state standing in for a whole hardiness zone.
  • A metric with no citable dataset behind it is withheld rather than published. The Census of Agriculture is quinquennial (2017, 2022) — we never cite a 2025 edition.
  • The BAU comparison column is unpublished until pilot field records are large enough to state a sample size and formula for.

Yield & productivity

Output per acre, growing season, harvest cycles

Avg yield per acre

Vegetable production per harvested acre, computed from NASS state tables

Zone 7
15,411 lbs/acre
Zone 8
20,666 lbs/acre
Zone 9
18,588 lbs/acre
EstimatedUSDA NASS Vegetables 2024 Summary (released February 2025), state tables vege_all_tables.csv

Growing season length

Frost-free days available for outdoor production

Zone 7
195 days
Zone 8
220 days
Zone 9
245 days
ObservedNOAA U.S. Climate Normals (1991-2020), Freeze/Frost Date Normals

Pricing & revenue

Wholesale prices, revenue per acre, CSA pricing

Avg grower price per lb

Season-average price received by growers, farmgate

Zone 7
$0.20
Zone 8
$0.29
Zone 9
$0.41
EstimatedUSDA NASS Vegetables 2024 Summary (released February 2025), state tables vege_all_tables.csv

Revenue per acre

Gross crop value per harvested acre, before any costs

Zone 7
$3,112
Zone 8
$6,023
Zone 9
$7,544
EstimatedUSDA NASS Vegetables 2024 Summary (released February 2025), state tables vege_all_tables.csv

Sustainability

Carbon, water, and soil-health indicators

Carbon sequestered

Estimated soil carbon sequestration per acre per year

Zone 7
0.8 tCO2e/acre/yr
Zone 8
1.1 tCO2e/acre/yr
Zone 9
1.4 tCO2e/acre/yr
ModeledUSDA NRCS COMET-Planner: Conservation Practice Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Estimates

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