Guides for specialty crop farmers
Plain-English playbooks for the questions Southeast vegetable farmers actually ask us — built from real operations in NC, SC, GA, TN, AL, and FL.
- Field operations · 6 min read
Weather Tracking Tools for Specialty Farmers (USDA Zones 7–9)
Apps vs hardware, frost-alert thresholds, growing degree day (GDD) tracking, and the short list of tools we recommend for tomato, pepper, cucurbit, and brassica growers in NC, SC, GA, TN, AL, and FL.
Read guide - Field operations · 6 min read
Pest & Disease Risk Guide for Southeast Specialty Crops
Field-ready summary of the seven pest and disease pressures BAU's Pest Watch tool tracks: crops affected, weather conditions that trigger risk, and first-response actions for Zone 7–9 growers.
Read guide - Crop planning · 7 min read
Crop Rotation Planning for Vegetable Farmers: A 4-Year Template
Plant-family logic, a downloadable 4-year template covering tomatoes, peppers, cucurbits, brassicas, alliums, and legumes, plus how to slot cover crops without losing market windows.
Read guide - Labor & H-2A · 8 min read
H-2A vs Domestic Labor: A Real Cost Comparison for Vegetable Farms
The real all-in cost of H-2A vs hiring domestically: AEWR, housing, transport, agent fees, recruiting time, and turnover. A worked example and when each model wins.
Read guide - Markets & buyers · 7 min read
Wholesale Produce Pricing & Buyer Contracts 101
FOB vs delivered pricing, packout grades, USDA terminal market reports, pre-season contracts vs spot, and the 8 contract clauses every specialty crop farmer should read before signing.
Read guide - Crop-specific · 8 min read
Tomato Disease Identification Guide for Southeast Farms
Symptom photos-in-words, timing, and first-response actions for the tomato diseases that actually show up on NC, SC, GA, TN, AL, and FL farms.
Read guide - Crop-specific · 6 min read
Bell Pepper Spacing and Yield per Acre
Row spacing, in-row spacing, plants per acre for single vs twin rows, and marketable yield you can actually plan a season around.
Read guide - Crop-specific · 7 min read
Cucumber Pest Management Calendar for the Southeast
Scouting thresholds and action windows for cucumber beetles, aphids, pickleworm, and downy mildew from transplant to final harvest.
Read guide - Crop-specific · 5 min read
Summer Squash and Zucchini Yield per Acre
How many bushels per acre summer squash actually produces, harvest cadence, and where farms lose 20–30% to overripe fruit and low pack-out.
Read guide - Crop-specific · 7 min read
Watermelon Planting Guide for USDA Zone 8
Transplant windows by county band, seedless-to-pollinator ratios, spacing, and the two mistakes that cost the most cull fruit.
Read guide - Crop planning · 6 min read
Fall Broccoli Planting Calendar for the Southeast
Transplant dates by state, variety heat tolerance, head-size targets, and how to sequence plantings for continuous cutting through frost.
Read guide - Crop planning · 6 min read
Kale and Collard Succession Planting Guide
How to sequence plantings 2–3 weeks apart, cut-and-come-again harvest cycles, and cold-tolerance windows for named varieties.
Read guide - Farm economics · 7 min read
Sweet Potato Acreage Economics
Slip cost, labor, curing shrink, storage cost, and packout-driven revenue for a 10-acre wholesale sweet potato block.
Read guide - Farm economics · 8 min read
Strawberry Plasticulture: Cost per Acre
The real per-acre cost of a fall-planted plasticulture strawberry crop and the revenue mix that clears it at U-pick, farmstand, and wholesale.
Read guide - Farm economics · 7 min read
Blueberry Acre Setup Costs
Year 0 through year 5 cash flow for a rabbiteye or southern highbush acre in the Southeast, plus the two decisions that break the pro forma.
Read guide - Zone calendars · 6 min read
Vegetable Planting Calendar for USDA Zone 7
Direct-seed and transplant windows by month for the 25 vegetables that carry a Zone 7 wholesale operation.
Read guide - Zone calendars · 6 min read
Vegetable Planting Calendar for USDA Zone 8
Direct-seed and transplant windows for Zone 8 farms, including the fall window that carries most Southeast wholesale revenue.
Read guide - Zone calendars · 6 min read
Vegetable Planting Calendar for USDA Zone 9
Zone 9 direct-seed and transplant windows, including the mid-summer heat break most planning calendars ignore.
Read guide - Labor & H-2A · 9 min read
H-2A Application Timeline: Step by Step
Every H-2A filing step and deadline — job order, ETA-790, ETA-9142A, I-129 — and the realistic 75-day timeline that keeps you legal.
Read guide - Labor & H-2A · 7 min read
H-2A Housing Inspection Checklist
Line-item H-2A housing checklist by category, plus the top-10 findings from Southeast state inspector reports.
Read guide - Labor & H-2A · 5 min read
AEWR 2026 Farm Wages by State
Current-year AEWR by state for the Southeast, plus how DOL calculates it and how to plan for the mid-year adjustment.
Read guide - Labor & H-2A · 7 min read
Farm Labor Recordkeeping Requirements
The exact records federal law requires you to keep for farm workers, how long, and how audits actually look at them.
Read guide - Markets & buyers · 6 min read
Wholesale Produce Pricing: NC Terminal Market Explained
How to read the daily USDA NC terminal report, what wholesale price ranges include and exclude, and when to price above them.
Read guide - Markets & buyers · 6 min read
CSA Share Pricing: A Calculator Guide
The four inputs that set an honest CSA share price, and how to check it against retail-equivalent value each week.
Read guide - Markets & buyers · 7 min read
Farmers Market vs Wholesale: Real Margin Comparison
Per-acre net, per-hour net, and the crossover point where wholesale beats market for tomatoes, peppers, and greens.
Read guide - Field operations · 6 min read
Cover Crop Selection Guide for the Southeast
The six cover crops that carry Southeast vegetable rotations, with seeding rates, termination windows, and what to plant into next.
Read guide - Field operations · 6 min read
Drip Irrigation Cost per Acre for Vegetables
Real per-acre install and per-season operating cost of drip irrigation on plasticulture and bare-ground vegetables.
Read guide - Farm economics · 7 min read
High Tunnel ROI for Tomatoes and Peppers
Real yield lift, price lift, and payback period on a 30x96 tunnel of tomatoes or peppers with and without EQIP cost-share.
Read guide - Field operations · 8 min read
Soil Test Interpretation for Vegetable Farms
Reading pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, CEC, and base saturation on Southeast soil tests, and the action thresholds that trigger amendments.
Read guide - Field operations · 7 min read
Nitrogen Budget for Tomatoes and Peppers
Total-N target, split schedule, cover crop credits, and how to use petiole sap to catch under- and over-fertilization mid-season.
Read guide
Where to source seed
Farmers in our pilot network regularly source seed from these suppliers.
Johnny's Selected Seeds
Employee-owned, trials-focused seed and tool supplier — strong varietal notes and Southeast-relevant disease tolerance data.
Visit siteBurpee Gardens
Long-established U.S. seed company with a broad catalog of vegetables, herbs, and heirloom varieties suited to specialty crop farms.
Visit siteSouthern Exposure Seed Exchange
Virginia-based cooperative specializing in heirloom and open-pollinated varieties selected for heat, humidity, and disease pressure in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Visit siteHigh Mowing Organic Seeds
100% certified organic seed. Useful for farms pursuing organic certification or supplying buyers with organic sourcing requirements.
Visit siteBaker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Extensive heirloom catalog — a good fit for CSA farms and direct-market growers looking to differentiate with unusual varieties.
Visit siteFedco Seeds
Cooperative seed supplier with transparent sourcing and strong pricing on bulk quantities for market growers.
Visit siteSeed Savers Exchange
Nonprofit dedicated to preserving heirloom and open-pollinated varieties — a resource for seed saving and genetic diversity on your farm.
Visit site
Where to source tools, parts, and hardware
General farm & ranch retailers our pilot farms commonly use for tools, fencing, sprayer parts, and hardware. Same non-affiliation disclaimer applies — no commissions, no endorsements.
Tractor Supply Co.
National farm & ranch retailer with widespread Southeast locations. Useful for fencing, hand tools, livestock supplies, PPE, and general hardware.
Visit siteAgri Supply
North Carolina–based agricultural supplier with strong inventory of tractor implements, sprayer parts, irrigation fittings, and specialty crop hardware.
Visit siteRural King
Midwest and Southeast farm & home chain with broad hardware, fencing, feed, and small equipment selection — competitive pricing on consumables.
Visit siteSouthern States Cooperative
Farmer-owned cooperative with locations across the Southeast — strong for fertilizer, seed, animal feed, fencing, and agronomy support at the local branch level.
Visit site
Frequently asked questions
- Who are these resources written for?
- Specialty crop and vegetable farmers operating in USDA Zones 7–9 — primarily NC, SC, GA, VA, TN, AL, and northern FL. The guides assume a working farm growing tomatoes, peppers, cucurbits, brassicas, alliums, or berries at commercial scale.
- Are the guides free?
- Yes. Every resource on this page is free to read, with no signup required. The recommendations also work without BAU Farm Intelligence — the software is one option, not a prerequisite.
- How often are the guides updated?
- We refresh each guide at least once per growing season, and immediately when a major rule changes (for example, an AEWR update for H-2A wages). The publish and updated dates are shown on every article.
- Can I use these guides in my own farm planning documents?
- Yes, for internal farm use. Please credit BAU Farm Intelligence and link back to the original guide if you republish excerpts. Email support@baufarmintelligence.com for commercial or extension-program reuse.
- Do you take suggestions for new topics?
- Yes — send topic requests to support@baufarmintelligence.com. We prioritize questions that come up repeatedly in pilot farmer calls.