County Strawberry Harvest Is Ripe for a Record Season

Ventura County’s strawberry harvest is shifting into high gear, as clear skies and mild temperatures boost production and put growers on pace toward what could be a record season.

Although a recent cold snap put the brakes on the early season harvest--statewide production stood at 1.6 million trays through Friday, compared with 2.2 million during the same period last year--there are plenty of berries on the way.

“The cold weather slowed us down a little bit, but it’s a long season,” said Oxnard strawberry grower David Murray, who oversees about 300 acres for Coastal Berry Co. “Our fields look better than ever, and I think consumers can expect to see high-quality fruit.”

Most production this time of the year takes place in the southern part of the state, especially in Ventura County. Growers here have continued to plant record acreage with strawberries, now the county’s second most valuable cash crop, after lemons, according to the county’s agricultural commissioner.

Strawberry growers on the Oxnard plain have 8,582 acres in production this year, a 10% increase over last year and double the acreage dedicated to strawberry production a decade ago.

Growers statewide are working 27,178 acres this year, an 8% increase over last year and the most in state history, according to the California Strawberry Commission. Spokeswoman Dominique Hansen said a longer growing season and extended periods of good weather could combine for a record production year.

“If we get some good weather going, we could really be looking at some high-volume numbers,” Hansen said. “From what I understand the quality has been really good, the fruit tastes great, and it looks great.”

That’s not to say there haven’t been problems.

In addition to minor damage inflicted by last month’s frigid temperatures, growers are entering the second year of reduced use of the controversial soil fumigant methyl bromide.

Championed as a potent pest killer, the colorless, odorless gas had been used on more than 90% of California’s commercial strawberry acreage until 2000, when it started to be phased out under terms of an international treaty.

Environmentalists and others have long fought to ban use of the fumigant, saying it is potentially harmful to children, farm workers and people who live near fields where it is applied. It is scheduled to be banned altogether by 2005.

Southern California strawberry growers also wrestled this season with rampant root rot that caused scores of plants to wither and die. Some farmers were forced to replant as much as one-quarter of their acreage because of the disease, according to a Ventura County agricultural official.

Many local growers say they fear low prices for their harvests, as increased acreage and higher yields create an oversupply and depressed markets.

Over the last decade, no other area of the state has planted more new strawberry acreage than Ventura County, which remains California’s second-largest strawberry producing region behind Watsonville/Salinas, according to the strawberry commission.

Even so, the value of the crop has been dropping. The county’s strawberry crop generated $186 million in sales in 2000, $34 million less than the previous year.

“All it produces for the most part is a losing market for all of us,” said veteran Camarillo grower Michael Conroy, who farms about 100 acres.

“You look at all these people [planting strawberries] and you wonder, ‘What do they know that we don’t know?’” he added. “Those that can’t keep pace are going to fall by the wayside. For small people like myself, you hope you can find a niche in the market and keep it going year after year.”

Oxnard grower Kaz Iwamoto has done just that. By growing pesticide-free berries and selling directly to customers at farmers’ markets, Iwamoto said he’s been able to build a following with his Harry’s Berries brand.

Organic berries now represent about 1.5% of the plantings statewide.

“We set our prices usually quite a bit higher than anybody else in the market, and the people who buy from us don’t even blink,” said Iwamoto, who is just getting going on a harvest that will peak this spring. “Our customers know us, and we’ve established trust with our brand.”

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Strawberry Fields

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