Beware of overly optimistic figures in business plans.
Sales such as that at the Pasadena, CA farm are known as "high end" sales and are in an area where Community Supported Agriculture is well known.
High end sales are such things as a chef from a locally famous restaurant dropping by for some fresh "X". Yes. It happens. After you've built a relationship and reputation. Sales will still be in commercial quantities with commercial sizing and bunching. The
local chefs all want one thing: something FRESH, well packaged and labeled and immediately usable by them. Fresh high quality garlic? Fresh spices? Sure, but whether its chef or chef/owner he will approach it as a business transaction. Fast, simple, sufficient quantity for large numbers rather than a small dinner party. Most chefs value their already existing relationships so it will take time to develop new contacts. All chefs value a place that delivers when promised. Don't ever tell a chef 4:00pm and get there at 5:00pm. Chefs can not run restaurants like that.
A better "guide" for figures is the CSA data. Community Supported Agriculture can be families or small institutions that buy a share of a farm's forthcoming output. And its the packing and distribution time and costs that are important. Many farms distribute through off-site distribution centers such as a community center. This price data is more easily available and produces less rosy forecasts than just the "high end" sales data.
Your output is uncertain. Satisfaction with its quantity, timing and variety is uncertain. At least in certain areas of the country it helps to supply occasional recipe ideas for certain crops. Particularly for beets... you will find your customers often really don't know what to do with them. Long ago, food coops distributing to the urban poor always had various limitations signs when they opened, but when it came to closing time there was always a large sign proclaiming No Limits on Beets.
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