Want to pay $10 for a head of lettuce?
We already do through our taxes.
$3.15 per carton/24 heads/carton = .13 cents per head.
Harvest: Iceberg lettuce is hand harvested (field packed and wrapped) under contract 70 to 130 days after planting depending on the time of year planted. Cool season plantings may require 130 days to mature but as the season warms, time to maturity decreases. Total costs will vary by type of pack, labor (piece rate vs. hourly), packer and other miscellaneous items. The costs in this study are $2.10 for the carton, $3.15 per carton for harvest labor, which brings the field harvest cost to $5.25 per packed carton. A c arton in this study is a 24 count weighing approximately 40 pounds per carton. Transportation costs vary depending on the distance to market and are included in the above costs. Most growers are within a 25 - mile radius of the cooler. Cooling and palleti zing cost an additional $0.9 6 per carton, which brings the total harvest cost to $6. 21 per carton. Selling costs are $0.61 per carton