[authorityofnil]

I feel the obvious solution wouldn't be to handicap your own product, but simply sell the same processors cheaper when they stop selling.

I've never heard of farmers who intentionally make their produce worse before selling it, they simply sell it cheaper if there isn't enough demand. If you make a lot of houses that don't end up popular, do you go and smash the roof and take away the plumbing, or sell the same house at a lower price?

[xondono]

Actually some farmers do the exact same thing.

Some farm products get sorted too, mostly because produce for human consumption needs to be eye catching (people don’t buy ugly food). Industrial clients don’t really care (who cares if the apples are uggly if I’m making juice anyway). This means good looking fruit sells at a premium.

If this year is particularly benevolent with your crops, but no one will buy your pretty apples, what are you supposed to do? Just let them rot? You ship it to the juice producer and call it a day.