What is a U-pick farm?

An Extension publication for growers (Oklahoma State University Extension Facts No. 184, reissued by the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension) defines pick-your-own operations as a direct-marketing system in which consumers harvest the fruits and vegetables themselves. It notes that many people choose U-pick to select fresh, vine-ripened produce, and that many enjoy the picking itself as an outing.

Most farms run a check station between the parking area and the fields. The same publication describes it as the place where customers are instructed, where money is collected, and where the farm’s rules are posted: who provides containers, the hours, and the prices. Staff there can tell you which fields and varieties are open that day.

The same source notes that pick-your-own spread in the 1930s and 1940s, when low market prices and a shortage of hired pickers led growers to open their fields to the public.

Farms price U-pick produce by weight, by volume or by count. When a farm sells by weight, the Extension publication describes the routine: containers are weighed before picking and the weight is recorded; after picking, the filled containers are weighed again and you pay for the produce weight. If you bring your own container, expect it to be weighed when you check in.

Selling by volume is simpler at the checkout, but the farm then has to supply containers of known size, such as half-pints, pints, pecks or bushels, so the volume can be measured. Count pricing, a price per item, is the simplest of all but does not work for every crop; the publication gives blueberries as an example.

The same publication notes that some farms keep produce picked by their own crew for customers who cannot pick, and may sell it at a higher price.

Pints, quarts, pecks and bushels on a farm sign are dry measures, which are larger than the liquid pint and quart. The USDA handbook of weights and measures (Agricultural Handbook 697) sets the dry-measure ladder: 2 pints make a quart, 8 quarts make a peck, and 4 pecks make a bushel, which is 32 quarts.

Weights per container vary by crop, and sources differ. The USDA handbook lists approximate net weights for commercial packs, shown in the table. Illinois Extension, writing for shoppers, says that when buying strawberries by the pound, one and a half pounds equal one quart.

Picking depends on the weather. The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources notes that availability for each crop varies from year to year because of weather and advises calling ahead to check picking conditions. The Connecticut Department of Agriculture adds that some farms require reservations made in advance, and recommends checking hours and field conditions on the farm’s website, social accounts or picking hotline.

Ask the farm whether it provides containers or lets you bring your own. The grower publication notes that container policies differ and that farms may charge for containers they supply. N.C. Cooperative Extension’s take-home card for strawberry pickers suggests bringing an ice chest, so fruit stays cool on the drive home.