Splitting a Seed Budget Between Opening Stock and Test Lines

A wholesale seed budget is usually settled in a single session, long before any catalogue page is opened. That is the right moment to decide how much of the money goes to lines you already know sell and how much goes to a small number of untested varieties. This overview sets out a simple way to fix that split first, so the later catalogue work only fills in names rather than deciding risk. It is written for seed shops, garden retailers and resellers preparing a trade enquiry.

Why the split belongs before the catalogue

If the ratio is decided while browsing variety pages, the decision follows whatever looks attractive that afternoon. Fixing the proportion first turns the catalogue into a list of candidates rather than a series of temptations. Write down the total budget, the share reserved for proven lines and the share reserved for untested lines. Everything that comes later has to fit inside those envelopes, which keeps the enquiry honest about what the business can actually absorb.

Starting from what proven means for you

A proven line is one your own sales record supports, not one that is merely well known in the trade. A variety that repeats across seasons in your shop is different from a variety that sold once. Before allocating anything, list the lines you can defend with your own figures. Those lines form the core, and their share of the budget should reflect how much of your turnover they carry.

Setting a defensible core-to-test ratio

There is no universal number, but a workable discipline is to give the large majority of the budget to the core and keep the test share small enough that a poor result does not disturb the season. The ratio should be written down with a short reason, for example the number of test lines you can physically display, label and follow up. If you cannot describe how you will observe a test line, it does not deserve budget yet.

Sizing the test share by what you can manage

The test portion is limited by attention as much as by money. Each untested variety needs shelf space, a label, a price decision and someone to notice whether it repeats. A small number of test lines that are properly watched produces better information than a wide scatter. Treat the count of test lines as a separate cap from the money, and let the smaller of the two limits decide.

Keeping units consistent inside each envelope

Catalogue records use different recorded units, and a price per kilogram is a different basis from a price for a stated number of seeds. When you divide the budget, state which unit you are budgeting in for each line. Mixing weight-based and count-based figures inside one envelope makes the ratio meaningless. The quotation later confirms pack size, available quantity and final price, so the budget split is a planning figure, not a committed amount.

Separating the two envelopes in the enquiry

Keep core lines and test lines visibly apart in the enquiry basket and in any notes you send. That way, if availability or price changes during review, it is clear which items are essential and which are optional. It also makes it easier to drop a test line without disturbing the core, and it gives you a reference point when the quotation returns with conditions that differ from the catalogue entry.

What the split does not decide

The ratio does not confirm stock, prices, taxes, shipping charges or delivery arrangements, and sending an enquiry does not conclude a purchase. It also says nothing about import requirements at your destination, which have to be checked separately. The split is an internal planning decision that makes the first enquiry reflect your risk tolerance rather than your enthusiasm on the day.

Reviewing the split after the season

Record which test lines repeated and which did not, then move the survivors into the core for the next planning round. Adjust the ratio only on the basis of that record, not on how the season felt. A ratio changed without evidence tends to drift upward in good years and is then hard to reduce. Keeping the written reason next to the number makes the next review quicker.

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