Did you know?
- Florida is the second largest strawberry producer in America.
- The season for Florida strawberries is November through mid-March when other U.S. strawberry producing areas are dormant.
- Plant City, Fla., is known as the “Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.”
What Consumers Want
When it comes to strawberries, American consumers are pretty picky. Here’s what they recently told University of Florida researchers. Shoppers value freshness and taste above all. And they prefer to purchase locally grown berries. Imported berries? Not so much.
Not only that, they are three times more likely to pick strawberry packages that are identified with the Florida Department of Agriculture’s “Fresh from Florida” logo. And, not surprising, consumers want to support our hard-working strawberry farmers and the local economy. Way to go shoppers!
We are expanding the strawberry research acreage this year. The new field behind the FSGA offices will showcase new advances in the industry, and tours of the facility will feature a working strawberry field and visit with a strawberry farmer to learn first-hand what it takes to grow strawberries today verses how it was done years ago by past generations.
