Strawberries
The Wisconsin Berry Growers Association has been serving as a clearinghouse for resources, guidelines and requirements by government and health officials. The association and Wisconsin’s farms have also been monitoring changes in procedures in other parts of the country as their growing seasons are earlier than Wisconsin’s.
Laura Skelly, vice president of the Wisconsin Berry Growers Association, said most members have watched a webinar that set out best practices for health adjustments.
Here are some of the changes local strawberry farms have made to keep people safe this year.
They’re social distancing by spreading people out among the strawberry rows
Typically, when people go out to pick strawberries, they’re led to a row and told to pick all the ripe berries they see there before moving on to the next area. Strawberry farmers do that so their fields get properly picked, in order to prevent fruit from being overlooked and rotting.
This year, in the interest of social distancing, strawberry farmers will direct families to rows where they can spread out more than usual.
“We generally cram a bunch of people into one field at a time to get our fields picked properly,” said Sue Knudsen of Barthel Fruit Farm. “This year we’ll be opening multiple fields at the same time and directing people to pick every other row so it won’t get too crowded.”
Farms are also making sure families set up their picking area at least six feet from the next family and leaving whole rows empty between people.
They’re also encouraging people to strawberry pick on weekdays to ease traditional weekend congestion.
“We’re hoping with more people furloughed and able to come out during the week, that will mean our weekends don’t get really busy,” said Scott Thompson of Thompson Strawberry Farm. “If we can have it so not everyone comes out on Saturday morning, it will be easier to spread people out.”
They’re rerouting entrances and exits
When you get to the strawberry farms this year, you might be entering and exiting the fields in different places than you’re used to.
At the Apple Barn Orchard and Winery, there will be pathways to get to the fields, and at Basse’s Taste of Country, people will be directed to walk to different fields. “The biggest change is there won’t be hayrides out to the fields this year,” said Roger Basse. “We don’t know how to keep people socially distanced on the wagons.”
They’re requiring hand-washing before and after picking
Strawberry farms have installed extra hand-washing stations near parking lots and throughout the fields. There are also signs telling people to wash their hands, and several of the farms require pickers to wash their hands before and after picking.
They’re changing their baskets and buckets
When you go to a strawberry farm, you often are given a wooden container with a cardboard flat inside to carry your strawberries. At some farms, you’re given baskets.
This summer, the container process will be changed to avoid transmitting the virus through touch.
At Mayberry Farms, they’re omitting the usual containers and flats entirely and giving everyone a bucket that holds 6 pounds of strawberries, and charging a flat fee for it.
Strawberry farms, such as Basse‘s Taste of Country, will be encouraging social distancing by spreading families out among the strawberry rows.
At Thompson Strawberry Farm, employees typically make baskets each day. This year, they’re making the baskets at least 72 hours before anyone uses them to increase confidence that they’re virus-free.
“Employees will wear gloves to hand people the baskets,” Thompson said. “Any baskets that are used by customers but not taken home with them will be left in a separate location for 72 hours instead of giving them right to the next customer.”
They’re encouraging contactless checkout
One reason Mayberry Farms is switching from cardboard flats and wooden containers to plastic buckets this year is that it eliminates the need to weigh strawberries.
“Since you’re paying the flat fee before you start picking, you can just leave when you’re done,” said Danielle Clark of Mayberry Farms. “That eliminates the congestion at check-out.”
Although Basse’s Taste of Country will still require weighing berries before paying, employees won’t be touching their berries or their payment method, as they’ll be asking customers to place their own berries on the scale, and they’ve gone cashless.
At Barthel Fruit Farm, they don’t have to make checkout changes. As in previous years, people drive to the cashier area and pay for what they have. The cashier’s area is already six feet away from customers, and the method ensures just one customer is paying at a time. “We were pretty much doing social distancing before social distancing was a thing,” said Sue Knudsen.
Mayberry Farms is taking one extra fun step to avoid contact as much as possible. Instead of families moving stakes from where they start picking to where they end to indicate where the next family should start, at Mayberry, they’re planning to use partially inflated kickballs to mark starting and ending points. People will be asked to gently kick the balls down the row. “That’s one less thing people need to touch with their hands,” said Clark, laughing.
Where you can go to pick your own strawberries in southeast Wisconsin
Note: Opening dates and hours are tentative based on the timing of ripening, the weather conditions and how picked over the crops get each day. You should always call the farm to confirm hours before heading out.
Apple Barn Orchard & Winery W6384 Sugar Creek Road, Elkhorn 262-728-3266
Estimated start of season: mid-tolate June
Hours for you-pick: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. daily
Barthel Fruit Farm
12246 N. Farmdale Road, Mequon 262-242-2737
Estimated start of season: between June 20 and 25
Hours for you-pick: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily
Basse’s Taste of Country
3190 County Line Q, Colgate 262-628-2626
Estimated start of season: between June 16 and 22
Hours for you-pick: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every day except Wednesday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday
Brehmer’s U-Pick Strawberries 5805 Clover Road, Hartford 262-673-6527
Estimated start of season: mid-June Hours for you-pick: Check Facebook page or call for updates
Mayberry Farms
W2364 County Road Y, Mayville 920-387-3696
Estimated start of season: June 14 or
15
Hours for you-pick: 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday Thompson Strawberry Farm 14000 75th St., Bristol 262-857-2353
Estimated start of season: June 15 Hours for you-pick: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Contact Amy Schwabe at (262) 8759488 or amy.schwabe@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @WisFamilyJS, Instagram at @wisfamilyjs or Facebook at WisconsinFamily.