To explain; first, everyone has their own set of priorities. I understand they differ for different situations, legal environments, desired outcomes, etc.
As a horticultural systems designer, it's my job to meet the needs of my clients and customers, not dictate what they should be.
No one WANTS to throw quality under the bus in the chase for yield, but it's an easy choice that does fill the grower's wallet. Ignoring this reality is an ivory tower mistake.
Yet, I feel strongly that quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive goals and that Big Cannabis is never going to be as much of a commodity business as corn or pork bellies. Quality always has, still does, and increasingly will count for a great deal of the price going forward.
To this end, I'm attacking the yield side aggressively, by reducing the square footage, reducing the necessary power requirements and reducing the needed manhours per unit of volume produced.
Yet nothing in the book of efficiency improvements precludes greater returns, nor is there an absolute tradeoff to the quality of the end product. In short, I seek to push the boundaries of performance without trampling on the plant any more than necessary- and that's a standard set by the customer. There's the dispensary/warehouse operator who has one set of requirements and then there's THEIR customer, whose needs might be substantially different.
In short, one ignores quality at great peril to reputation and bottom line.