How U-Pick Farm Pricing Works: Weigh & Pay, Rules & Field Etiquette

1. Weigh & Pay (Common for Berries, Peaches, and Vegetables): You take a farm container or bring your own (which must be weighed empty at the stand first to record the 'tare' weight). You pick as much as you want, return to the scale, and pay per pound.

2. Pre-Purchased Container (Common for Apples and Cherries): You buy a specific container at the gate — such as a peck bag (10–12 lbs) or half-bushel bag (20–22 lbs). Anything you can fit in the bag without spilling is included in that flat upfront price.

1. Pick only in designated rows: Farmers open fields in rotations to give plants time to ripen. Stepping into closed rows damages under-ripe fruit and disrupts irrigation lines.

2. Step between beds, never over them: Stepping on raised strawberry plastic beds crushes plant root systems and collapses drip irrigation tape.

3. Respect sampling boundaries: Sampling one berry or an apple slice to test sweetness is widely accepted. Eating a full meal in the rows without paying is considered theft.

4. Don't shake tree branches: Shaking an apple or peach branch knocks dozen of unripe fruit to the ground where they bruise and rot.

5. Supervise children closely: Farm equipment, bee boxes, electric fence wires, and uneven ground are common in working agricultural fields.

6. Check the dog policy beforehand: Due to USDA food safety regulations, many produce farms cannot allow pets in picking rows, even on leashes.

7. Pack out your trash: Never leave plastic water bottles, wet wipes, or snack wrappers in the orchard rows.