What should I check about a nursery’s overwintering structures and cold damage history?
Inspect the overwintering structures for structural wear, covering condition, heating or ventilation, and drainage. Then ask for the history of cold damage: which winters hurt, which blocks suffered, what was lost and what the seller changed afterwards. Compare the answers with the stock you see in the rows.
Walk through every structure with the seller. Look at frames, covers, doors, vents, fans and any heaters. Check the floors for water pooling and the roofs for signs of snow load. Ask which structures are oldest and which have been repaired. If a structure is critical to holding a valuable crop, ask what it would take to replace it.
The history matters as much as the building. Ask which winters caused damage and how the seller found out. Request records of losses, replacements and insurance claims, if any. Look for patterns: do the same blocks suffer again and again, or did the problem come from a single event? A seller who changed practice after a bad year can usually explain why.
Then check how stock is chosen for protection. Ask what goes inside, what stays outside under cover, and what is left exposed. Look at the stock for signs of old injury, such as dieback. Your accountant can help you see how past losses show in the books. If you can, visit once in the cold season and see how the structures perform. A walk on a bitter morning tells you more than a summer tour. Ask what the seller would build or fix first if money were no limit.
Key takeaways
- Inspect each structure for wear, drainage and snow-load signs.
- Ask which winters hurt, what was lost and what the seller changed.
- Look for old injury in the stock itself.
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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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