Berry Growers Turn On the Juice : Agriculture: Damage-weary farmers, who are hastening to get to their vulnerable strawberry crops before heavy rains do, are also trying to look on the bright side.

Forecasts of severe rain have prompted San Diego County strawberry growers to scramble to clear their fields of mature fruit before it is bruised by droplets or ravaged by mold.

The race against Mother Nature might end before the weekend, as strong rains are expected today, according to the National Weather Service. Although strawberry harvesting normally continues during mild showers, if an inch to an inch and a half of rain falls before Saturday as forecast, muddied fields and submerged plants might shut down fieldwork, said Ben Hillebrecht, owner of a family farm and produce stand in Escondido.

The rainstorms of earlier this month have already left their mark. Growers this week reported that half to two-thirds of the berries they are harvesting have been damaged by water. About three months of harvesting remain for the season, which begins in February and ends in June. The fate of the remaining berries lies with the weather.

Showers are expected to continue off and on for up to two weeks, meteorologists said Wednesday. Hail advisories have also been issued.

“We’re worried,” said Mimi Tokoro, who works for Strawberry Tree Farm on Manchester Avenue in Cardiff. “But, if you’re a farmer, you already know life is uncertain. We realize we’re slaves to weather.”

Although growers of the vulnerable strawberry might take a financial hit when rains come, most farmers are looking for a brighter side to the storms, given inflated water rates brought on by the drought. Rain will replenish local water supplies, stabilize rates for next season and lessen the financial burden of all crop production, farmers said.

“For every dollar I lose on strawberries, I’ll get back 10 on other crops,” said Hillebrecht, who raises 40 kinds of fruit and vegetables, including strawberries on 3 acres. “With what I’ll make up in water next year, I can’t bellyache too loud.”

At Nagata Brothers Farm in Oceanside, three generations of strawberry growers have weathered the woes brought on by rain. They have developed strategies to cut financial losses and minimize damage.

In response to last year’s wet March and to growing competition from Northern Californian and Mexican berries, Nagata Brothers cut back by a third the number of acres devoted to strawberries, said Ace Nagata, company treasurer. About 200 acres is split 70-130 between strawberries and the more hearty cherry tomato, Nagata said.

Nagata’s pickers will don slickers and work through the rain until field conditions deteriorate, Nagata said. Because rains have been intermittent this year, brief drying periods have occurred during breaks in the storms, allowing harvesting to take place.

“We just grab up as much as we can before the decay starts in,” Nagata said.

San Diego County has about 840 acres of strawberries, or about 2% of the state’s berry fields, said Wayne Schrader, a farm adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension. Crops are valued at $25,000 an acre, or about $22 million countywide.

Larger, less diversified farms have been hit the hardest.

At North River Ranch in Oceanside, 155 acres are devoted to strawberries, manager Ron Hasegawa said. Avocados are grown on a much smaller plot.

On most days this year, picking yielded only 30% edible berries, Hasegawa said. And even many of those are not suitable for sale in markets and must be used to make jam or in other food processing.

“When a farmer is down, you don’t talk much about it,” Hasegawa said. “We’ll just try to make the best out of what’s left of this crop, and look forward to next year.”

Given the weather problems, the wholesale cost of strawberries rose from last year by about $2 per flat. A flat contains 12 pint baskets and retails for about $12.

“There are probably just as many berries on the market as ever but fewer that are high-quality,” said Britt Garrett, who operates an open-air fruit stand in La Jolla Village Square. Garrett’s partner and wife, Marlett, said Orange and Ventura county berry growers picked up the slack when recent rains stymied local production. The berries sold by the Garretts on Wednesday were from Irvine, he said.

Harsh weather has dogged San Diego County strawberry growers for four seasons, beginning in 1988, said Bill Snodgrass, commissioner for the San Diego County Department of Agriculture.

Freezing temperatures stunted plant growth in 1988 and ‘89, and in April of 1989, a heat wave dealt another debilitating blow, scalding more than two-thirds of the ripe berries, Snodgrass said.

The following year, cold and drought contributed to problems with crops, and last year the March rains hexed growers.

“It’s cold, it’s hot. There’s not enough water, then there’s too much,” said David Owen, executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, a private, 4,000-member association of growers. “You can’t be faint-hearted and be a strawberry farmer.”