How do I check a tree farm’s wholesale lot customers and their reorder habits?

Ask the seller for sales by customer, season by season, along with the invoices behind them. Look for the pattern: who returns every year, who bought once, and who drifted away. A name that disappeared recently deserves a question. Check whether orders are placed early or at the last minute, since early commitments give you more time to plan cutting and labour.

Check how much of the revenue sits with the top few customers. If one lot buyer takes most of the crop, find out whether there is any agreement beyond habit and whether that buyer knows the farm is for sale.

Ask how orders are made: by phone before the season, on site at harvest, or through a broker. Learn how lots are priced, graded and paid for, and whether anyone has had to chase late payments. With the seller’s permission, call a few customers. Ask what they value about the farm, whether they plan to keep buying and what would make them stop. Their answers tell you whether the relationship belongs to the farm or to the current owner personally. Save these notes with your other findings. Be careful with customers who buy only when stock is plentiful and disappear in tight years.

Key takeaways

• Get sales by customer and season, with the invoices behind them.
• Find out whether one wholesale buyer takes most of the crop.
• Call a few customers, with the seller’s permission, about their plans.