Quality In The Mind Of The Consumer
July 10, 2011 Every grower believes their product is of the highest quality. But as Ball Horticultural Co.’s Will Healy travels around the United States to visit growers, he sees the concept of quality differs between growers.
“Quality is like pornography,” Healy says. “You know it when you see it.”
Quality should not necessarily be the grower’s expectation for the product, though. Instead, whether or not a product is a quality one is the consumer’s decision.
Considering that notion, a number of the growers claiming to produce quality product arguably do not produce quality. One hundred percent quality product is, of course, impossible. But as Healy puts it, growers should strive to be A-plus growers with a goal of 95 percent quality. Growers can achieve 95 percent quality, he says, by:
• Doing the tasks that need to be done in production.
• Doing the tasks that need to be done in production consistently; and
• Doing those tasks on time.
Quality is seen in both plant roots and shoots, Healy says. And one way to achieve a high level of quality is by striving for uniformity.
“Give the right feed plus the right PGR at the right time,” Healy says. “Consistently feeding at the right time is important.”
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