How do I assess a lavender farm’s plant age and distilling equipment?
Ask for a field map with each variety and planting date, then walk the rows to judge plant health and gaps. Inspect the still, the heating setup and the storage. Together these show how long the fields will keep producing, what replanting is coming and how much oil or product the equipment can handle.
Start with the plants. Ask for a block map showing variety, planting year and condition. Lavender stands can thin as they age, so look for woody centres, gaps, disease and winter damage. Ask which blocks have been replaced, which are due, and what each replacement cost in labour and plants. A farm with many tired blocks has a bill waiting for the next owner.
Then look at the distilling equipment. Ask the age, make and capacity of the still, how it is heated, how it is cleaned and who services it. Ask to see a run. Look at the safety of the heating, the ventilation and the storage of oil and finished products. Ask whether any of it is leased or pledged to a lender.
Finally, link both to the products. Ask how much oil, hydrosol or dried product each block gives in a normal year, and what share of sales comes from each. Ask how much comes from visitors, events or retail. If the equipment limits output, ask what a larger still would cost to run. Bring an experienced grower or distiller to look with you.
Key takeaways
- Get a block map showing variety, planting year and condition, then walk the rows.
- Watch a distilling run and inspect the heating, ventilation and storage.
- Tie output from each block to product sales and ask what is leased or pledged.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentEquipment valuation: How to do it
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