California STRAWBERRY acreage to decline slightly in 2015 - La superficie cultivada con FRESA (FRUTILLA) en Calidfornia disminuye levemente en 2015

Planted acres of strawberries in California are expected to decline again slightly in 2015, as water issues a higher yield-producing new varieties are perhaps contributing to the downward trend.

A new UC strawberry variety

Growers are expected to plant 37,438 acres of strawberries in 2015 — down from last year’s total of 38,937 and from the 2013 total acreage of 40,816, according to the California Strawberry Commission.

Planted acreage normally fluctuates in strawberry fields, but some growers are also grappling with a lack of water — particularly in Ventura County, where some farms rely on surface water and encountered shutoffs last year, commission spokeswoman Carolyn O’Donnell said.

In addition, rising labor and fumigation costs may be prompting growers to plant fewer acres, thinking that good yields from newer varieties could help them keep up with demand, O’Donnell said.

“If you could be a little more efficient without planting as many acres, that’s just farming efficiency,” she said. “When they make planting decisions, they have no idea what’s going to happen next year in terms of water ... They have to balance the knowns and unknowns for the next season.”

The commission’s acreage estimate comes as growers finished 2014 having produced more than 191.9 million trays for the year — a slight decline from the nearly 194.8 million flats produced in 2013.

Rain in early December dampened strawberry yields along California’s Central Coast, setting production behind the previous year’s pace. Through much of 2014, growers were on a pace to enjoy their eighth record-setting year in the last nine seasons.

“In any given year, the weather is going to dictate how much you get out of the fields,” O’Donnell said.

Strawberries are a year-round fruit in California, as winter harvests move south with the sun. The peak season is the spring and early summer, when all of the state’s major growing regions are producing berries.

About 85 percent of the nation’s strawberries come from California.

 

From: Tim Hearden - Capital Press (http://www.capitalpress.com )