North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

You've just hit the biggest weakness of allowing the customer to serve themselves.   I don't know if it's still the case, but in England, the local greengrocers always picked out the produce for the customer, enabling them to include a few slightly dinged or very ripe fruits.  It was built into the system so the customers didn't  squawk too much and the dealer wasn't stuck with less than perfect stock.  
Selling in baskets is a way to get around the problem to some degree as some of the fruits in a basket can be less than perfect and still go if the ones on top look good.  
Not an ideal solution, but it's easier than having "produce police" or having to require the customers to be "re-trained" each time they come in the store.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003. 
For even more grape lessons, go to  http://www.grapeschool.com
For growing supplies and more;  http://www.grapegrowersolutions.com

On Apr 8, 2007, at 7:11 AM, Jim Fruth wrote:

I've been selling at farmers' markets for a lot of years and have 
learned that most customers do not want organic produce.  Oh, they will all 
SAY they want organic but the want it at supermarket prices.  Customers want 
perfect produce; they handle every tomato and if they see a slightest 
imperfection, they reject it.  Customers also want their produce to be the 
same size as that which they find at supermarkets.
One time, after sorting through my displayed tomatoes, a citiot asked 
me, "Don't you have any more BIG tomatoes?"  "Why do you need big ones?" I 
asked.  "I'm going to cut them up for a salad," was her reply.
I have watched vendors come in to sell certified organic produce and 
they either stop coming because much of their produce doesn't sell or they 
drop their organic certification.  In my opinion, "organic' will become the 
trend when customers stop being so fussy.  What's the problem with a tiny 
pock or ding?  And so long as organic producers are able to grow less 
perfect fruits than their non-organic counter-parts, their organic produce 
must, necessarily, cost more if they are to stay in business.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]

On Apr 7, 2007, at 1:09 PM, Thomas Olenio wrote:

> My underlying point being that preaching to farmers and agriculturists
> about the virtues of organic and standard agricultural practices will
> not change consumer demand one iota, and its consumer demand that
> drives commercial agricultural practice.
> ?

Preaching rarely works, on anybody. But I know organic growers who have
gradually increasing numbers of other organic farms all around them.
They don't preach; they just do a good job. Their neighbors notice the
results. Success also drives agricultural practice.

--Rivka

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