Cultivation4 min read
Quality starts in the orchard, not at the packhouse
By the time fruit reaches sorting, most of its quality is already decided. What that means for how a growing programme is planned.
Read articleCompany3 min read
Planning supply before it becomes urgent
Buying agricultural product at the last minute is the most expensive way to buy it. What planning a season ahead actually involves.
A buyer who needs product this week is negotiating from the weakest position available to them, and a grower selling into that market is not being rewarded for quality. Both problems have the same cause: supply arranged at the point it became urgent rather than before.
What gets agreed in advance
- The volume and grade the buyer actually needs, by window
- What the growing partner can realistically commit to
- The specification and acceptance criteria, in writing
- What happens when a season delivers more or less than expected
The last of these is the one most often skipped, and the one that causes the argument. A season that comes in short is a normal agricultural event, not a breach of faith — but only if both sides decided beforehand how it would be handled.
A supply relationship that only works in a good season is not a partnership.
More articles
Quality4 min readWhat we check before a consignment leaves us
A specification is only worth writing if something is checked against it. What we inspect, when, and what is recorded.
Read article
Sustainability4 min readResponsible production, in practice rather than in principle
Sustainability is easy to claim and hard to evidence. The parts of it we can act on directly, and how we treat the rest.
Read article
Next step
Have a requirement this touches on?
If something here is relevant to what you are buying, the fastest route is to describe your case rather than read three more articles.
We reply to every enquiry within one working day.