“I’ve heard of a u-pick farm that only charges an entry fee on chol hamoad. Do we really pick so little, is it a form of crowd control or are we easy targets?”
Here is a little story. I was the holder of a seasonal picking pass for the third season at said pick your own, and had just gone to the farm 2 weeks before rosh hashana, I was surprised when I pulled up the 2nd day chol hamoed succos and was told there is a fee per person. I showed my pass and expressed surprise at the fee, it was then that the farmer explained that after “yesterdays disaster” of trampled crops, crops picked and left on the ground and garbage strewn all over the place he would charge an entrance fee to offset his other losses and damage.
So perhaps instead of asking .”Do we really pick so little, is it a form of crowd control or are we easy targets?” You might want to ask, why were we not careful so as not to destroy this mans farm. If you think he is exagerating, why don’t you make the trip to Hightstown on several random days in June, July and August and again on Chol Hamoed Succos and come to your own conclusion and learn the answers to the questioned you posed.