Although the year has only begun and most harvesting has not started, California's strawberry production is already ahead of last year's numbers.
Carolyn O'Donnell, Communications Director for the California Strawberry Commission, notes that volume is up over last year.
“It's too early in the season to tell much,” she says, “but so far, volume is about twice what it was last year at this point.”
She also notes that acreage went up slightly from 37,336 acres last year to 38,373 acres this year, an increase of 2.8%.
According to the commission's National Berry Report, as of January 23rd, California's volume has been 8.8 million flats. Last year, volume was at 5.8 million flats at this point in the year.
Production is currently centered in southern portions of the state until the weather gets warmer, and then production picks up farther north. Peak volumes are typically reached from April through June.