Tony Ndoca, a GenNext Grower in Illinois, recently contacted American Fruit Grower and Western Fruit Grower looking for advice on running a U-Pick farm:
“The problem we have is how do we deal with people that pick things and decide they’re not going to buy them once they’re at the counter. Some people will pick things that they think is not good quality and throw it on the ground. I’m looking for answers to solve this problem of having people picking stuff in the field and dumping it out without buying it.”
We put that question out to our readers and here are some of the suggestions we received through Twitter and Facebook.com/GrowingProduce:
- “We try to have staff constantly circulating in the orchard, observing customer behavior to ensure a positive experience.”
- “We require a $5 per person admission which is then credited towards their purchase of what they pick.”
- “Put more workers in the field to show people what, where, and how to pick.”
How do you prevent loses like this on your U-Pick farm? Do you have any advice for this young grower?
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