Picking new policies: Ont. orchard tightens rules after approximately 500 lbs. of apples stolen

An Ontario farm is changing its policies due to a persistent problem with fruit pickers. CTV’s Hannah Schmidt finds out what happened.

A Waterloo Region farm is changing its policies after saying persistent thefts stripped roughly 500 pounds of apples from its orchard.

Shuh Orchards said people have been picking fruit without paying.

“Myself, I’ve caught about 250 pounds of stolen goods on three occasions, of around 80 pounds each,” owner Tim Shuh told CTV News.

“We are erring on the side of conservatism. My staff let me know that they saw a customer group putting apples in the stroller [and a] blanket concealed about 40 Honeycrisp apples.”

When confronted, Shuh said they claimed they “didn’t know how [the apples] got in there.”

“The stealing is disappointing in itself, but that, paired with the lying, is inexcusable,” he added.

Shuh posted an update on Instagram last week explaining the new rules at the farm. The post received thousands of likes and nearly 550 comments, with many users expressing support for the business.

Commenters on Instagram and local public Facebook groups said they had also seen families filling wagons and strollers with apples. Others reported instances where individuals would hide fruit in the wagons and lie about payment when confronted.

Last weekend, approximately 4,000 people visited Shuh Orchards, according to the owner.

“When we have that many people on the farm, it can be difficult to keep track of who’s coming into the orchard,” Shuh said.

They have been forced to bring in more staff during busy times, put up caution tape near the main road and ban wagons, backpacks and strollers in the orchard rows. Anyone picking apples will have to use a bag provided by the farm.

“It takes a lot of labour, a lot of input costs, and that’s what’s the most disappointing for us is that we’ve seen these apples grow from a bud to an apple throughout their whole growing season,” said Shuh.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service reminds residents that stealing produce from orchards, roadside stands or pick-your-own operations is considered theft under the Criminal Code. Offenders could face charges of theft under $5,000.

The Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce said incidents like this are becoming more common across the province.

“We’ve seen an increase in this locally and, I think, across Ontario,” said Art Sinclair, vice president of public policy and advocacy with the chamber of commerce. “[In] a lot of cases, there aren’t the necessary human resources or staff resources available to provide the security and the policing around these.”

Sinclair said thefts like this are tough for farmers to absorb, especially when money that should go back into the harvest now has to be spent on security.

“It’s going to cost them more, and when you’re on tight profit margins, that additional cost for security and other measures to prevent theft, that’s only going to add to the losses or the cost for the business,” Sinclair explained.

Shuh Orchards said the goal is to keep the pick-your-own tradition alive and fair, and they hope a little honesty goes a long way this apple picking season.

“We want people to know about our farm,” said Shuh.

“We want people to know about how we grow apples. Stealing does not help; we work extremely hard to grow this crop. We put everything we have into this, and stealing just has no place in this country.”