What should I check before buying a u-pick farm?

A u-pick farm sells a crop and an outing at the same time. Our guide to buying a berry farm treats u-pick as one sales channel among several. If you plan to run the farm mainly for visitors, across different crops, a few more questions come first, and most of them are about people, not plants.

The calendar and the weather

Ask for the picking calendar across the whole year. Which crops open when, and do they follow each other so that visitors have a reason to return? Ask how many days were lost to rain, heat or a poor crop in recent seasons, what the farm did on those days and whether anything is sold to make up for them.

The site on a busy day

Visit on a peak weekend if you can. Watch parking, the entrance, the washrooms, the weighing or payment area and the paths to the fields. Crowded, confusing sites lose visitors. Ask what the seller would change and what needs replacing soon.

Staff, supervision and payment records

Ask who works the busy weeks, how they are found and trained, and who supervises the fields. Ask how sales are taken and recorded, whether through tickets, scales or a till, because those records show your real income. Your accountant can read them with you.

Insurance and the owner’s following

Ask for the liability insurance history, including any claims and what the insurer asked the farm to change. Then ask why people come: the crop, the setting or the owner. A strong local following may take time to carry over.