05/11/07 Getting Ready For Strawberries

Getting ready for the strawberry. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. Strawberry harvest unofficially marks the beginning of Oregon's growing season. But the 16 million dollar industry is just a fraction of what it used to be because of competition and cost, according to Bernadine Strik of Oregon State University Extension: STRIK: Our strawberry industry continues to decline, which is unfortunate. But we've seen about a 30 percent drop in the last five years. So we expect to harvest a little over 2000 acres this year. Oregon strawberries are predominately used for processing. Competition from California and Mexico has affected Oregon growers. Both produce huge volumes of fresh berries: STRIK: Even though they only process about 25 percent of what they produce, this is still a tremendous volume of fruit and far surpasses- like 30 times what Oregon produces as a process industry. That volume of fruit is so much cheaper than what our growers can produce. Labor costs have also squeezed the profit margin for Oregon growers. Still, many producers are finding a way to survive through direct marketing of fresh berries at farm stands and farmers' markets, even as processing opportunities decline. Taste buds don't lie. Very few consumers will disagree that the quality of Oregon strawberries is second to none. STRIK: We pick our berries absolutely vine ripe. They are varieties bred for processing, so they are red outside and inside and they have a wonderful texture after canning, freezing, or drying. And they have really good flavor and high sugar content. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.