Have you ever heard of a bushel before? Isn’t that just slang for a bunch of something? Bushels of problems, bushels of fun? Even a bushel of wheat? Believe it or not, this isn’t a slang term. It’s an actual unit of measure, one with a long and storied purpose. So how much is a bushel of anything?
A bushel is a unit of volume and a unit of weight for measuring produce. As volume, it is equivalent to 8 dry US gallons, or 64 pints, or 35.24 liters. Used as a unit of weight, a bushel varies from item to item.
Bushels are technically an archaic measure but are still commonly used today in the United States and around the world – although that is a somewhat longer and more convoluted story.
If you have anything to do with farming, even if you’re just buying large amounts of produce or cereal, this is need-to-know stuff, so you should keep reading…
Bushel is a Unit of Volume
At its simplest and most accurate, a bushel is equivalent to eight dry US gallons, or more accurately, 64 dry pints. Used this way, its origins go all the way back to the medieval ages, and it was specifically used to measure, buy, sell, and exchange grain.
And Occasionally a Unit of Weight!
Here’s where the story starts to get more complicated. Though a bushel started out as a unit of volume, speed, efficacy, and regular dealing saw it slowly morph into a unit of weight in some circles. For folks that deal in the same type of product again and again, be it grain, vegetables, fruit, or anything else, a given volume will have a consistent weight. Or, at least, close enough!
Accordingly, bushel became a unit of weight but one that was only useful if you knew exactly what you were dealing with and were dealing in like kind. If you were measuring the weight of a lot of apples by the bushel, but in your head was the weight of a bushel of corn, you would get screwed!
That’s because a bushel of apples weighs around 44 lbs on average, while a bushel of shelled corn weighs about 56! Whether you were counting on quantity or counting the cost, you’d be soaked.
Bushel May Also Refer to a Standardized “Basket” Container
By now your head is probably spinning at all of this, and I don’t blame you, but buckle up because it’s about to get worse. A bushel may also, correctly, refer to the container typically used to measure it. Have you ever seen those large, round, wooden produce baskets at farmers markets? Chances are good that is an actual bushel container!
As you might imagine, far from being an affectation, these baskets are a hard-working, utilitarian container. Although often made from flimsy pressed wood products not designed to last these days, in the old times these were built more like barrels, with heavy wooden staves.
A true bushel measures about 18 inches in diameter and is around 11 inches tall. There is some room for variability, but a bushel basket must be made precisely. There were laws instituted all the way back in 1916, like the Standard Fruits and Vegetable Baskets and Containers Act, governing these things!
Today, bushel baskets aren’t just made of wood. Plastic is pretty popular, too, but if you ask me, nowhere near as charming. I suppose the lack of splinters makes up for it, but I’ll stick with the genuine article, thank you very much.
The Business With Bushels
If you have anything to do with produce in the agricultural business, you’ll already know that bushels are the measure of the marketplace. Pretty much everything is sold by the bushel, and you’ll see prices listed with this measure in mind.
More than that, the productivity metric for agricultural land is also commonly stated in bushels, if not tons. For instance, in the United States major corn producers average about 170 bushels per acre. Substandard productivity will be below that, while exceptionally productive land will be above that figure.
Trade to and from other countries on a global scale is even measured in bushels, with billions and billions worth of produce being moved by ship and truck annually.
Bushels are pretty unique in this regard: they are just as useful at your local farmers market as they are on the international market! But there is a downside to the latter…
Bad News: A Bushel Varies Around the World!
I know some of you are ready to string me up having suffered with all this confusion, but I’m going to level with you: it’s about to get even worse!
So to recap, a bushel typically refers to a unit of volume but almost as often a unit of weight. To further complicate calculations, the container itself is referred to as a bushel for either.
But everything I’ve told you has been concerning the United States. If you go anywhere else in the world, the standard figures can change. An imperial bushel, used in the UK and Canada, is a little bit bigger: the equivalent of 8 1/4 dry US gallons.
That doesn’t sound like a big difference until you factor in the economy of scale: a 3 to 5% difference on a massive purchase could mean a lost fortune!
When Working or Buying in Bushels, Pay Attention to Usage
No surprise here: whatever you are doing with bushels—buying, selling, or trading—you’ve got to get your mind right and sharpen your pencil. Do you need to work with volume or weight? Is the person you are dealing with working with volume or weight? And what expectation of weight or volume do they have? Refer back to the apples versus corn example I gave you above.
Also, no matter where you are, don’t assume that the seller or buyer is using your version of bushels: is it US standard or imperial?
Take it from me, having a handy calculator app that can make conversion and figuring painless is priceless if you’re working with this measure very often.
Fractions of a Bushel are Also Common in the US
For average household use, a bushel of anything is going to be quite a lot: you’re typically talking dozens of pounds of something. If you just want to make a big batch of preserves to last your family through winter, a bushel is not what you want!
But that’s okay because it’s common to find half or even quarter bushels sold at smaller marketplaces. This is especially common in the US.
A Quarter Bushel is Called a Peck
Here’s a fun piece of trivia for you that will amaze your friends and family. I will warn you that modern sellers, even those who use bushels regularly, probably won’t get this one; quarter bushel is more readily understood.
But do you remember the old tongue twister “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers?” Now you know what a peck is!
Tim is a farm boy with vast experience on homesteads, and with survival and prepping. He lives a self-reliant lifestyle along with his aging mother in a quiet and very conservative little town in Ohio. He teaches folks about security, prepping and self-sufficiency not just through his witty writing, but also in person.
Find out more about Tim and the rest of the crew here.