Yet, even on the store level, rigorous postharvest studies are needed. Postharvest tests are not in the domain of the packers. The best we can expect from them is to be innovative and improve their practices and performance. To have a lasting California industry we must keep the producer profitable. We cannot do this while we are divided.
Packers are possessive of the farmers with whom they do business.
Under certain situations, their practices adversely affect these same growers and the industry. A packer will keep receiving unneeded fruit just so his grower does not go to another handler. Buildup of inventories in anyone's cooler is a formula for reduced prices for the industry as a whole. The handler with the largest unsold inventory is the limiting factor for stability in the market. It is not reasonable to expect growers to abandon their packer of choice every time inventories are too high.