How do I check a garlic grower’s seed stock and curing space?
Ask where the seed garlic came from, how many seasons it has been kept back, how it is selected and how disease is watched. Then inspect the curing and storage space for airflow, cleanliness and room. Seed stock and curing capacity set how much garlic the farm can grow and sell each year.
Seed is the farm’s core asset, so ask for its history. Which varieties are grown, how long has each line been kept, and where did the first stock come from? Ask how the seller selects bulbs to save, how they check for disease, and what happened in any year with trouble. Seed that is traded or sold is part of the business, so ask whether it is included.
Walk the curing and storage space. Look at airflow, protection from rain and sun, cleanliness, racks and how many bulbs can be handled at once. Ask how the seller handles a wet harvest and how they protect bulbs after curing. A space that is too small can cap the whole operation, however good the fields look.
Then connect the space to sales. Ask how the stock is divided between seed, eating garlic and other products, and how orders are filled over the year. Ask how much is lost in storage and how it is tracked. Ask whether customers buy the seed by name, and whether that reputation stays with the farm after a sale. Your accountant can check how the stock held in storage is recorded.
Key takeaways
- Ask about the history of each seed line, how bulbs are selected and how disease is watched.
- Inspect curing and storage for airflow, cleanliness and capacity.
- Find out what share goes to seed sales and what is lost in storage.
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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 CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
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