Heading into the Florida strawberry season, growers and shippers are feeling optimistic about what they're seeing in the fields with harvest starting in two weeks. "The health of the plants is as good as I've seen in 10 years–this year the plants look exceptional," says Brian Deese of Somerfield Farms.
© Somerfield Farms
This follows a challenging 2024-2025 season that was significantly impacted by Hurricane Milton. This season so far though has seen good weather with early cooler weather which in turn minimizes any stress on the plants. "We also planted a little earlier so we might be able to start a little bit earlier as far as scraping some of those earlier varieties," says Deese, noting that the majority of its strawberries will be the Brilliance variety but it will also offer Encore and Ember varieties of strawberries.
New this year for Somerfield Farms is also additional acreage and a new packing facility armed with best in class precoolers in Frostproof, Florida. Those precoolers help quickly cool the berries which helps extend shelf life. "This is brand new ground that's never had strawberries on it before so you don't have the depletion within the soil as far as crop after crop of strawberries on it. We're looking forward to some big numbers coming off," says Deese, noting that the location, which is further south in Florida, does have more heat units which is also helping growing conditions.
Supply into 2026
In all, peak production is expected this month through February with the company offering 1 lb. and 2 lb. stem packs in time for Valentine's Day. Harvest should go through March or even into April, depending on the weather and promotable volumes could start in January leading into Valentine's Day.
As for demand for Florida strawberries, it's expected to be strong. "That's coming off of the weather that California has seen and the quality coming out of Mexico is not the best right now. So some retailers are chomping at the bit to get into Florida," says Deese.
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Lee Kimball of Somerfield Farms says that will leave pricing stronger as the season opens. "Right now, good strawberries are very hard to find. We don't see any change in that leading into the Florida season," he says. "Florida looks right now to have premium growing conditions which will promote good volume. That will also provide good quality and quality draws the sales."
2026 blackberry update
Looking ahead, the company will also continue to expand its southeast blackberry program. This year it's bringing on new growers in two regions in Georgia: Tifton, where production will start earlier, and further north, Dublin.
After that, production will switch into North Carolina for its blackberry season. "North Carolina typically starts in June but that's weather-dependent. This location is in the western part of the state where the elevation is a little higher and the weather is a bit cooler. This doesn't stress the blackberries as much and it also extends our season in North Carolina," says Kimball, noting it can go through October out of North Carolina because of that cool weather. "In all, the two growing regions provide us with some iInclement weather mitigation. We're not as susceptible to supply issues because of that."
© Somerfield Farms
Meanwhile, the company continues to ship blueberries via its year-round program and strong supply is currently coming out of Peru. "Peru has strong numbers on blueberries right now. The market has been very strong and demand has met the supply. There has not been a collapse of the market and that's a testament to the quality of the berries out there and the preplanning of the industry as a whole," says Kimball. "We all know the economy is an issue in every home right now. Our goal is to provide a high value product to consumers when they're making that decision to spend their hard earned dollars."
After Peru finishes, supply transitions to coming out of Chile and then back domestically from Florida which begins in early March.
For more information:
Brian Deese
Lee Kimball
Somerfield Farms
Tel: +1 (888)-299-3112
www.somerfieldfarms.com
