Harvest in upper Austria begins

They are called Clery, Starlette and Aprica. What reminds us of a trio of girls from a teenage novel, is the pride of the Hoffelner family in Kresmünster. For 38 years they have been producing strawberries and focusing on the types that bear these names. Entirely on the side, they give the Spaniards competition when it comes to swiftness of supplying. The start of the season is around a month earlier with the Hoffelners, calendar allowing.

The magic word is “solar tunnel”. In this, the strawberry fields are covered with foil, which are gathered up according to weather conditions. “This way, it is on average around five to ten degrees warmer”, says Andreas Hoffeiner, junior manager at the farm “Fischer in der Au”.

Irrigated droplet-wise, the strawberries ripen without being disturbed by rain, storm or hail. Pollination is carried out by expressly released bumblebees. For this early in the year, when the solar tunnel strawberries blossom, no bees are swarming around yet.

The Hoffelners grow strawberries on 20 hectares, though not all under a roof. 90 percent is brought to the market immediately, through the farm, the field or through their own 20 shops.

“We have turned the strawberries from a seasonal fruit, available for four weeks, into a top seller available for half the year” says strawberry king Willi Hoffelner. The harvest goes on until the end of October. New technologies and types that bear fruit multiple times make it possible.

Soon the strawberry season will start throughout the country. On 400 hectares, 80 farmers are producing the low-calorie sweet fruits. “Every third strawberry nationwide comes from Upper Austria”, says Karl Grabmayr, vice president of the chamber of agriculture. The agricultural market of Austria, which puts domestic quality in the number one spot, advises to pay attention to the AMA seal of approval while purchasing. Otherwise, red giants from Spain will sneak into the shopping cart.

Source: www.nachrichten.at