Research Explores Profitability of High Tunnel Cantaloupe

Research conducted by Cornell University scientists and funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program provides growers with data and insight into the production and economic factors that influence the opportunity to produce cantaloupe profitably in a high tunnel environment in New York. The project included production trials of three different growing systems with two different varieties of cantaloupe melons. “In both years, each melon production system in the trials: untrellised, vertical mesh, and double leader resulted in a net profit; however, growers need to carefully consider factors such as the labor and expenses of each type of growing system,” said study co-leader Elisabeth Hodgdon, Ph.D. The project also extrapolated enterprise budgets for full production load in a 30 x 96-foot high tunnel. Net income by variety in the 2024 trials ranged from $1,451.78 for the mesh-grown Tasty Bites (200 plants per tunnel) to $3,473.78 for the mesh-grown Sugar Cube (200 plants per tunnel).
Related ATTRA publication: High Tunnel Tree Fruit and Grape Production for Eastern Growers