The Pick Your Own (PYO) sector still has much to offer growers and consumers alike, according to Janet Allen, ADAS horticultural consultant.
Addressing delegates at the recent National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association (FARMA) conference, she asked: “Do you really know what your customers want? Do you ask them?”
It would pay for growers to trial cultivars and ask customers to appraise them, she said, and monitoring how other growers and supermarkets maintain customer loyalty is vital.
The longer PYO customers stay on farms the better, so adding more facilities and attractions, particularly for children, makes commercial sense, she explained. Consideration should also be given to extending the season or range of crops being grown. “Catering for ethnic groups can be rewarding,” Allen said. “They are huge users of all PYO vegetables and fruit.”
Undertaking integrated pest management (IPM) techniques and minimising pesticide usage and residues in products at harvest time helps to grow ideal crops with exactly the right provenance for consumers. “Use biodegradable materials whenever possible,” said Allen, adding that any adverse incident could result in the loss of a good reputation - so it is simply not worth a business taking the risk.
Allen told delegates how, on a recent trip to France, she had been impressed by a grower’s farm mission statement, prominently displayed at the entrance to the farm and easily seen and read by arriving PYO customers. “I suggest you do the same,” she said. “Consider growing new PYO crops. This requires adequate supplies of water for irrigation with more, and suitable, land.”
Finally she asked the crowd if existing staff were up to the challenge with their expertise and, vitally, would customers buy in to the proposed new crops? “Market research is key, as are informal discussions with your existing customers before going ahead,” she added.
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