This transcript is AI generated; there may be mistakes.
So what makes us different is that we're located on the central coast of California and we're pretty close to the Pacific Ocean.
It brings a lot of high light and cool nights and warm days.
It naturally tones the product.
When the product is naturally toned, the customer has a lot faster starts and they're able to get their product out into the market a lot quicker.
My name is Shari Ermocida and I am the general manager of Ball Tagawa Growers in Arroyo Grande, California.
We have been a gold supplier for Ball Seed for 32 years.
We supply plugs and liners to the Pacific Northwest, California, and we do ship all over the country, including Canada.
So we're considered a boutique grower because we have so many different types of divisions.
We grow a variety of different products that include vegetative products, tissue culture, and seeded items.
My name is Luis Muñoz.
I'm production manager at Ball Tagawa Growers in Arroyo Grande, California.
We specialize in growing young plants, perennials, annuals, and cut flowers, basically anything that fits the growers' needs.
We also have a lot of custom programs that we're able to do here and we are able to adapt to the need of our customers.
I started as a pot filler, so I understand what filling a pot should look like.
I understand how a plant should be properly transplanted, irrigated, and ultimately grown.
Throughout my 10 years in the industry, I've developed different skills that have allowed me to work closely with our staff and just be able to bounce ideas off each other, and that allows them to be successful.
Our crops are walked daily by our production team as well as our QA team to look for any kind of abnormalities or variations in our crop.
Feedback is very important, so we listen to our sales staff and we listen to our customers, and we want to make sure that our product is performing in the field as well as in the stores.
Logistics is very important to us, and we work diligently with Ball Seed Traffic to ensure that our product is being delivered at the best means possible.
We offer refrigerated trucking to the Pacific Northwest and to Canada in the spring, which allows us to rack about 90% of our product.
The goal is to get the plants to the customers without jeopardizing our quality.
We strive to have 100% order fill.
We have two full-time staff whose primary job is to check seed germination, vigor, and rooting on our vegetative products to ensure that we are free of disease.
To maintain our quality, we do weekly soil analysis and water tests in-house.
We have a small lab where we pull samples and do weekly tests and keep a record of all this information.
Based on this information, we're able to assess and make the proper adjustments to ensure we meet our target.
Our customer service department has over 30 years' experience.
They go above and beyond to fill Ball Seed orders.
Our biggest investment is our people.
More than 50% of our staff have been with us for more than 10 years.
An experienced staff knows our product so they know if there's something wrong with it and what to do about it.
To continue to improve quality, we are constantly attending seminars, industry events, to gather any new information that's available that we can implement into our program to continue to produce high-quality plugs and good cultural practices.
We recently renovated our germination chambers to improve quality and reliability, and we continuously make investments to keep our greenhouses in optimal condition.
Through our partnership with Ball, we have access to their technical service team who is always there to help.
Another reason why we value our partnership with Ball is the sales staff.
The support of the Ball sales staff helps Ball Tagawa continue to grow.
Although Ball is a big company, they continue to hold on to small family values.
What drives us is a passion for plants and people.
It brings great satisfaction knowing that we are the first step in coloring the world.
My name is Shari Ermocida, and I am the General Manager of Ball.