Florida Strawberry Members

Welcome to the home of the freshest, most delicious strawberries in the world. Enjoy fresh Florida strawberries, available December through April.

Berry Bay U-Pick 2015

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Berry Bay Farms

Berry Bay U-Pick is Closed.

Mid-March is Berry Bay Farms’ U-Pick season usually begins. They will allow the public to pick their own strawberries in March. Please check their website or you can call their office at (813) 642-9866 for more information.

No need to schedule an appointment. Just come out to the farm, once the fields have opened for u-pick, and they will greet you at the gate.

Berry Bay Farms is solely owned by Marvin and Linda Brown.  They have been in the strawberry business since 1978 and have been involved with several more farms and 2 cooler/sales companies.

If you have any further questions, please email them at [email protected].

Location:
5135 Bonita Drive
Wimauma, FL 33598

Helpful U-Pick Tips:

  • Dress comfortably. Wear loose fitting clothing.
  • Wear a hat or cap and bring sunscreen.
  • Bring your own containers to transport.
  • If you plan to spend the day, take ice to keep berries cool.
  • Select only firm ripe berries.
  • Be careful not to remove the tops of the berries.
  • Make an effort to pick every ripe berry on each plant rather than jumping from plant to plant and row to row.

The growers will appreciate your consideration and you will reduce the amount of strawberries that are left sitting in the field.

Best Flat Competition Results

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2014 Florida Strawberry Festival FSGA Booth
2014 FSGA Ambassadors, Morgan Sistrunk, Alssa Shepherd, Aly Joyner

Strawberry farmers in Florida have a long history of supporting our local community.  Every March, in conjunction with the Florida Strawberry Festival, our growers participate in an event we call the “Best Flat Competition.”  Growers bring their best berries to be judged on flavor, size, color, and other key attributes.

Winning boxes are auctioned to raise scholarship money for very deserving local students.  We have generated more than $400,000 in scholarships over the past 31 years with the help of this competition.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships since 1983. Scholarship applications are ready for pick up or download beginning in June each year and are usually due by the middle of September that same year.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association offers scholarships to encourage young men and women to continue their education beyond high school. The committee will determine the amount of the scholarship, but none will be less than $500.00.

Eligible students must be an enrolled college undergraduate or a high school graduate and submit a letter of intent to attend college. You can find more information on our scholarship program here.

2014 BEST FLAT COMPETITION

February 28, 2014 – Swine Sale
1st Place Grower – Fancy Farms, Inc. $900.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
2nd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farms $700.00
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Highland Package Solutions
3rd Place Grower –  Simmons Farms $500.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer –  Wish Farms
Total Swine Sale $2,100.00

March 2, 2014 – Plant Sale
1st Place Grower – Fancy Farms, Inc. $500.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
2nd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farm $550.00
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Rick Lott
3rd Place Grower – Simmons Farms $250.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
Total Plant Sale $1,300.00

March 8, 2014 – Steer Sale
1st Place Grower – Simmons Farms $1,000.00
Handler – Wish Farms
Buyer – Wish Farms
2nd Place Grower – Daniel Gutierrez Farm $500.00
Handler – Gulf Coast Produce
Buyer – Crop Protection Services
3rd Place Grower – Mike Lott Farm $1,000.00
Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable
Buyer – Mike Lott Farm
Total Steer Sale $2,500.00
Total 2014 Sales $5,900.00

Giving Back To The Community

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Strawberry farmers in Florida have a long history of supporting our local community.  Every March, in conjunction with the Florida Strawberry Festival, our growers participate in an event we call the “Best Flat Competition.”  Growers bring their best berries to be judged on flavor, size, color, and other key attributes.

FSGA Booth at the 2014 Florida Strawberry Festival
FSGA Booth at the 2014 Florida Strawberry Festival

Winning boxes are auctioned to raise scholarship money for very deserving local students.  We have generated more than $400,000 in scholarships over the past 31 years with the help of this competition.  Read more about all this year’s “Best Flat” winners on our website and Facebook.

2014 Florida Strawberry Festival FSGA Booth
2014 FSGA Ambassadors, Morgan Sistrunk, Alssa Shepherd, Aly Joyner

Agriculture has deep roots in this community (pun intended), and we know that helping our brightest youth secure a higher education will help to strengthen our industry and our community as a whole.  Developing future leaders sustains our business, and the strawberry growers and handlers enjoy helping our youth achieve their highest goals.

In early February, Wish Farms held a celebrity picking competition, which raised over $75,000 for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association.  RCMA is a wonderful organization that provides quality education for the children of our farm workers as well as daycare for their pre-schoolers.  The achievements of these children are heart warming, and our industry is always proud to financially assist this very deserving group.

Team Ed and Barbara Bergmann, the winning team!

Another of the Wish Farms growers, Fancy Farms, opens a section of their farm up every March for a massive U-Pick day – with all proceeds going to the 4-H kids in our area.  This event is so popular that some cars have to park almost a mile away, but people gladly come out to pick some great fruit and raise money for another worthy organization.

Our major grower/handler, Sam Astin III of Astin Strawberry Exchange, provided funding for the new cattle pavilion at the Strawberry Festival.  The FFA youth now have a beautiful facility to strut their prize animals, and auction them for substantial money.  And whom do you think purchased the Grand Champions at this year’s auctions?  Mr. Astin bought the top pig, and Mr. Grimes bought the prize steer.  Both are key strawberry growers and handlers!

Other crops grow in locations scattered about our country, but Florida strawberries are so densely concentrated around Plant City that we can efficiently give back to the community that supports us.  Farming is certainly a tough business, but you can be assured our growers and handlers have big hearts when it comes to helping our area youth.  God bless them all!

Warmest regards,

Ted

About Florida Winter Strawberries

In 1980, a few strawberry growers began meeting in their homes to discuss the best way to organize a group that would represent the interests of the Florida strawberry industry. On February 11, 1982, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) was born. Hillsborough County is recognized as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World and the home of some of the sweetest, reddest and juiciest strawberries around.

Get Connected

Florida Strawberry Growers Association
P.O. Box: 2550
Plant City, FL 33564
Telephone: 813-752-6822
Fax: 813-752-216

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