Parsnip
Pastinaca sativa
Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a cool-season biennial root crop in the carrot family (Apiaceae), grown as an annual for its sweet, cream-colored taproot. A long-season crop needing roughly 110–130 days, it grows best in deep, loose, well-drained soils across about Zones 2–9. It is very cold-hardy and develops sweeter flavor after frost; roots can be overwintered in the ground and harvested in early spring before new top growth begins.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Prefers deep, loose, fertile sandy loam or muck at pH about 6.0–7.5. Seed is slow to germinate and short-lived, so use fresh seed sown as early in spring as the soil can be worked, keeping the surface moist until emergence. Supply about 1–1.5 inches of water per week; the crop is intolerant of drought and high temperatures. Weed control is difficult because of slow emergence. Store roots near 32°F at 95–100% relative humidity for 4–5 months. Caution: contact with the foliage sap in sunlight can cause phytophotodermatitis (skin rash/burn).
Growing Season
- Plant
- Early spring (as soon as soil can be worked) – Early spring (as soon as soil can be worked)
- Harvest
- Fall through early spring (can overwinter in ground) – Fall through early spring (can overwinter in ground)
- Frost-free days
- 110+
Yield
- Productive lifespan
- 1 years
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
No buyer on record for this crop in the catalog's buyer network.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "stable".
Supply Below Demand
No buyer network on record — cannot establish that regional demand absorbs additional supply.
Multiple Buyer Channels
0 recorded buyers and 6 documented market channels. Multiple routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
6 documented market channels, including value-added and direct-to-consumer routes.
Market Growth Projected
Mature vegetable market; growth over a 5-year horizon expected to track population rather than outpace it.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 2-9; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop GDD minimum not recorded. Region accumulates 2500+ GDD (base 50F), sufficient for most temperate crops.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop needs ~1 in; region receives ~38 in/yr. Compatible, irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop needs 110 frost-free days; region provides ~180. Sufficient.
Chill Hours Met
Not applicable — biennial crop has no winter chill requirement.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 8 hardiness zones (2-9). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
14 documented equipment requirements. Unusually equipment-intensive (14 distinct requirements), implying significant capital outlay.
Storage Available
2 documented storage/handling requirements, all achievable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Requires ~1 in. Deliverable with conventional drip or overhead irrigation.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
Labor requirement not recorded. Catalog 75th percentile is 250 hr/ac.
Processing Proximity
No processing or cooperative buyer on record for this crop; product would need to travel or be sold fresh.
Equipment Requirements
general
Power unit for deep tillage, bed forming, seeding, cultivation, hilling and undercutting.
Lime to pH 6.5-6.8 and maintain calcium at 60-85% base saturation to avoid cavity spot.
Two sidedress passes, at 4-6 weeks after planting and when roots reach 1/2" diameter. Avoid urea as the N source, which increases cavity spot. Do not over-apply early N, which drives top growth, foliar disease and root forking.
planting
Seed 0.5-0.75" deep at 4-5 lb/A to a stand of 8-10 plants per row-foot. Pelleted and primed seed improves handling and germination but shortens seed life further, so buy fresh each year.
Used before bed forming to loosen soil and encourage straight root development. Do not overwork soils or work them wet; loss of structure causes forking.
Raised beds increase the depth of tilled soil and encourage good root shape, which is the main quality driver in a long-rooted crop.
irrigation
Constant moisture is essential through the slow germination period and while root length is being set in the first month. Taper near harvest, since excess water then splits roots.
cultivation
Stale seedbed technique is critical, not optional, in a slow-germinating uncompetitive crop. Flaming just before crop emergence is the standard approach in Apiaceae root crops.
Serves two purposes: hilling soil over root shoulders at the last cultivation reduces greening, and covering the shoulders throughout the season is a primary control for Itersonilia canker.
spraying
Used mainly for weed control and for aster leafhopper timing. Note that fungicide sprays do not control Itersonilia root canker, so spray programs cannot substitute for hilling and rotation.
harvesting
Loosens long taproots before lifting. Tools range from handheld forks at small scale to tractor-mounted undercutters; without loosening, parsnip roots break on extraction.
Parsnips are always topped. Mechanical topping also reduces crew contact with foliage sap, which causes phytophotodermatitis.
post_harvest
Wash only as roots come out of storage for sale; excess moisture during storage favours rot.
Mature roots store 4-5 months near 32F without freezing. Keep RH below 95% to avoid condensation and dripping. Do not store with apples, pears or other ethylene producers.
Storage Requirements
Cold storage (topped roots, bulk)
Temperature
32–32°F
Humidity
90–100%
Max Storage
168 days
Overwintered in-ground (field storage)
Max Storage
150 days
Finance Fit
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $14,801/ac vs catalog median $5,500/ac. Above median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Input cost not recorded; not penalising. Catalog 75th percentile is $5,387/ac.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 0 years. Acceptable payback.
Insurance Available
No federal crop insurance recorded for this crop; risk sits with the grower.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Cannot compute — net return not recorded. Catalog median is $13.16/hr.
Grants/Subsidies
Vegetable crops are eligible under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $48/per cwt (farm gate) |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $14,801 |
| Annual Operating Cost | —/acre |
| Establishment Cost | —/acre |
| Total Input Cost | —/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | — |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Not available |
Source: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture vegetable statistics (Feb 2026); CAD→USD at IRS annual-average rates; corroborated by USDA AMS terminal prices (Michigan origin) (2025)
Risk Fit
Manageable Pest/Disease
11 documented risk factors. Within the range manageable by conventional IPM.
Market Diversified
0 buyers, 6 channels. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
0 years to full production. Low establishment exposure.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 2-9 (8 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a vegetable revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
disease
The most damaging disease of parsnip. Superficial brown, black or purple-black cankers form mainly on the crown and shoulder of the root, with secondary decay following. Especially serious in late-harvested and overwintered crops.
Sunken elliptical lesions on the root surface that downgrade or reject otherwise mature roots. Incidence is strongly driven by nutrition: excess potassium inhibits calcium uptake, and urea used as a sidedress nitrogen source increases incidence.
Vectored by aster leafhopper. Causes distortion and discoloration of leaves and stunted, hairy and bitter roots. Affected roots are unmarketable and the disorder is not correctable once infection has occurred.
pest
Larvae mine the root, leaving rusty-coloured trails and blotches that render roots unmarketable, and the wounds open the way for canker pathogens. In parsnip the mines are concentrated in the upper portion of the root, where they are most visible to buyers.
Larvae tunnel in the upper third of the root; tunnels are pronounced and are frequently invaded by fungi. Young larvae feeding in stalks or roots may kill young plants outright. Damage is generally worse on organic soils.
Inflicts very little direct feeding injury but is the vector of aster yellows. Populations migrate north annually and can arrive already carrying the pathogen; they can also overwinter locally in the egg stage on weeds or winter grains.
Parsnip seed is small, slow to germinate and uncompetitive with early weed pressure over a 110-130 day season. This is the single largest cause of yield loss in the crop and the primary reason growers abandon it.
climate
Parsnip requires 110-130 days to maturity and must be seeded as early in spring as the ground can be worked. In short-season areas a wet spring that delays seeding by two or three weeks can push harvest past the point where roots size up.
weather
The crop needs 1-1.5" of water per week during sizing, but heavy rainfall or irrigation close to harvest causes roots to split, which is an immediate downgrade to unmarketable.
environmental
Parsnip seed is short-lived and loses viability quickly in storage. Carrying seed over from a prior season is a common and avoidable cause of poor stands, and pelleted or primed seed has shorter longevity still.
Parsnip leaf sap contains furanocoumarins that sensitise skin to sunlight, producing burns and blistering after sun exposure. This is a direct worker-safety exposure during hand weeding, topping and harvest, and is unusual among common vegetable crops.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Parsnip against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Pollinator support
- Apiaceae umbel forage from bolted second-year plantsmoderate
Parsnip is a biennial. Overwintered roots that are not harvested bolt and produce the flat, open umbels characteristic of the carrot family: many tiny, shallow flowers on upright stalks that give easy access to pollen and nectar for small-bodied insects that cannot use deep tubular flowers.
Applies when: a portion of the crop is overwintered and allowed to bolt, or field edges and unharvested sections are left to flowerEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Pest suppression
- Natural-enemy provisioning for parasitoids and predatory fliesmoderate
The same umbel flower structure is the single most effective insectary form for tiny parasitic wasps, hoverflies and lacewings, whose adults require nectar and pollen to produce the larval stages that parasitise crop pests. Predatory flies and wasps spend more time on plants offering accessible nectar and pollen, raising parasitism rates of pests in the surrounding area.
Applies when: flowering plants are retained within or adjacent to production blocks during the pest seasonEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Climate adaptation
- In-ground overwintering extends the fresh supply windowmoderate
Parsnip can be left in the ground through winter and harvested the following spring, with flavour improved rather than degraded by cold exposure. This provides fresh local supply in the late-winter and early-spring gap without occupying refrigerated storage, and gives the grower a harvest option that is not tied to a single autumn weather window.
Applies when: roots are overwintered in place and harvested before new spring growth beginsEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: high
Biodiversity
- Larval host plant for swallowtail butterflieslow
Most swallowtail caterpillars can only develop on plants in the carrot family, and parsnip is a carrot-family crop. Foliage left in the field or in unharvested edges supports swallowtail reproduction.
Applies when: foliage is present and not treated with broad-spectrum insecticidesEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Erosion control
- Winter soil cover from overwintered standslow
An overwintered parsnip stand keeps living roots and residue in place through the winter months on ground that would otherwise be bare after an autumn root harvest, reducing surface exposure to winter rain, snowmelt and wind.
Applies when: the crop is overwintered in place rather than harvested and the ground left fallow over winterEvidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Region-neutral agronomy sourced from UMass Extension (New England Vegetable Management Guide) and Manitoba Agriculture.
Economics data year: 2025 · Region: lake_erie View economics source →
16 tracked changes across 10 data categories