handling of larger crowds. Even two or more stations for both in or out can give faster service at busy times. Cash registers help in keeping rec- ords of sales in a systematic manner. Accurate records of sales are important for determining which crops or what method of sales are most profitable. Sales tax reporting is much easier and less likely to be suspect by State De- partment of Treasury collectors when good records are kept. In Michigan, pick-your-own and other farm produce retail sales that amount to more than $50 a month are subject to the State sales tax. The nearest County Treas- urer's or Michigan Treasury Depart- ment office can tell you who and where to contact for tax reporting. Here you can receive up-to-date in- structions on all aspects of State sales tax collection and reporting as well as retail sales license and other requirements. CONTAINERS Many different containers are in use at pick-your-own operations. For crops like cherries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries, the grower may find it practical to furnish picking pails of not more than four-quart capacity. The smaller-size picking container avoids bruising of fruit, because there is less weight on fruit in the bottom of the pail. The fruit can be transferred to boxes, lugs, trays or other containers for taking home. For many crops like snap beans, tomatoes, apples, grapes, etc., customers often pick directly into the same containers they take home. In any case, customers who bring their own containers save money. And the grower saves time and trouble if he does not have to stock containers. Many growers sell containers to per- sons who do not have any, or who want more produce than their own PICKING FIELD THIS WAY DS3 I . GUIDES ARE HERE TO HELP YOL containers will hold. One strawberry grower developed a fold-together, cor- rugated cardboard tray that is 9 x 12 inches finished size and 3 inches deep. He furnishes these at no extra charge to all who pick their own. The contain- er holds about three quarts of fruit and costs the grower less than any other available container. No carrier is nec- essary and people pick directly into the tray. There are many similar inno- vations. Some growers who sell pick- your-own produce, sell used containers to customers at or near cost. These must be clean and must not have been used for meat, fish, poultry or dairy products. Alert growers can often re- duce costs and price their produce more attractively by giving the con- sumer a good deal on the container. GETTING TO PICKING AREA Moving customers and their pro- duce to and from fields or orchards can be a problem, especially when fields or orchards are scattered over a considerable distance. The least costly and least troublesome system is where people walk to and from fields. This system is practical where a central parking lot is near the fields. Guides can lead groups to and from pick- ing areas. Hand carts made with bicycle wheels are one way to haul produce from field to parking lot. Some growers run wag- ons, drawn by tractors for this purpose. Pickers, as well as produce, are often moved by tractor-drawn wagons. This is an added expense. Since accidents occur, additional liability risk is involv- ed. Before you decide whether to transport pickers to and from picking rr71 m 14-6 areas, or let them walk, discuss the alternatives with other pick-your-own operators. If you are considering letting people drive cars to the picking area, think through carefully the advantages and disadvantages. Driving to harvest areas may save time, and it provides trans- portation for both people and produce. A central parking area may not be needed or it may be quite small. On the other hand, roads will have to be well marked with signs to direct peo- ple to harvest area. During rainy peri- ods, cars can get stuck in fields or orchards. People sometimes drive over fields or areas where they should not go. Crops can be damaged by cars not following roadways closely. You may become liable for injury or property damage occurring on your property. It is difficult to supervise parking so cars won't block roadways. There should not be a back road out of the harvest area to tempt some to leave without paying for produce. It may be neces- sary to inspect back seats and car trunks when pickers check out. REPEAT BUSINESS Once a customer comes to a farm to pick one produce item, he or she is more likely to return for other items. We all tend to be creatures of habit. It is easier to go where we are familiar with the road, the parking arrangement and the check-in, check-out procedure. If you produce a number of different crops, your customer is likely to buy some of several that are available at that time. A succession of plantings of the same crop gives a longer harvest season. It also often induces a pick- your-own customer to return for more of the same item later. A prime objec- tive of having a variety of items avail- able over most of the growing season is to increase the dollar sales for each visit to the farm. When customers buy more at one time, the grower's operat- ing overhead expenses are less per dol- lar of sales. Car parking, check-in check-out, explaining where and how to pick and all other services are less when fewer pickers are needed to sell a given volume of produce. Anything you can do to sell more to each pick-your- own customer will increase net returns from this method of produce sales.