Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
To get a quick overview of the packaging demands you will face, talk to
established farmers who produce the crops you are interested in growing.
For U-pick farms, roadside stands, and farmers' markets, know whether you
will be selling your produce by the piece, by weight, or by volume. If you are
selling by weight or volume, find out if your state or province requires that
your scales or other measuring devices be certified. Be aware that some com-
mon terms have specific meaning when selling produce. The terms box, lug,
flat, and crate all mean specific amounts when applied to fruit sales. If you
will be selling on the wholesale market to brokers or directly to stores or res-
taurants, you should also talk to the people that will be buying your goods.
Find out exactly what they expect in terms of packaging and labeling.
Whatever packaging and delivery system you use, packages should be
clean and strong and present a professional appearance. Recycling old card-
board boxes and paper sacks may save you a few pennies, but it certainly
will not do much to build customer confidence in your professionalism. When
designing a system appropriate for your operation, take advantage of the ex-
pertise that commercial packaging suppliers have to offer and clearly identi-
fy your product and the name of your business. Competition is fierce, so be
sure to give yourself every possible marketing advantage. After spending
time, money, and effort to create a fine product, do not present it to your
customers in shoddy paper bags or used cardboard boxes bearing the names
of your competitors.
In many cases, you will find that clearly marking containers with your
farm name and logo is an inexpensive and effective means of advertising. I
had occasion to visit a large fresh produce brokerage firm in Oregon a few
years ago. As I walked through the facility looking at huge stacks of boxed
and bagged produce stored in the cold rooms, the manager, knowing that I
was from Idaho at the time, pointed out several pallet loads of potatoes in
cardboard boxes. The boxes were all clearly marked with the name and logo
of the Idaho grower who had supplied the potatoes. My host explained to me
that several of his largest customers insisted on receiving only potatoes from
that particular grower, citing consistently high quality. The customers were
