At a time when it is typically gearing up for the increased production of California strawberries, the California Strawberry Commission spent a considerable amount of time and effort reaching out to its grower community to give updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as offering resources and education to its members.
With shipments generally peaking in the April to June time frame, the commission and staff did continue its promotional work to consumers and outreach to the various segments of its supply chain, but pivoting to be a resource on coronavirus was a necessary diversion and falls squarely within its expertise.
Carolyn O’Donnell, the commission’s communications director, said grower education is an important element of CSC’s work and one of the three major roles that it occupies for the industry. The other two elements of its three-legged stool are generic marketing and production research.
Speaking about the grower education element, O’Donnell said activities that usually fall under this broad heading are things such as workforce development, food safety training and practices to guard against heat illnesses in the field. The efforts with regard to the coronavirus included workforce training, labor guidance and daily updates on the local conditions in the various communities in which strawberries are produced. Strawberry production takes place in eight different counties stretching from San Diego to Santa Cruz.
O’Donnell, who has been with the commission for 14 years, said there was a time when promotion was the main focus of the group but grower education has gained emphasis in recent years, which allowed the commission and staff to be well-situated in these trying times.
With regard to the other activities, she noted that much of the commission’s generic marketing program now takes place through social media with “moms being the target audience” and “promoting the California brand” being the main goal. The commission spreads its message through a variety of social media platforms using both English and Spanish-language outlets. One continuing message is the science touting the health benefits of strawberries.
Under the production research heading, CSC works with various educational professionals including those affiliated with The Strawberry Center at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Disease control, pest management, varietal breeding, plant nutrition and irrigation management are among the topics regularly addressed.
“We have a greater partnership with Cal Poly,” O’Donnell said, adding that the breeding work continues to be run through the University of California at Davis.
While there continues to be promising new varieties in the pipeline, the Monterey variety, which was released by the university in 2008, continues to be the most popular variety. In 2019, the Public Strawberry Breeding Program at UC Davis released five new varieties. Two of the new varieties could increase yields by almost 30 percent, according to the breeders, who revealed that about 60 percent of the state’s strawberry fields are planted with varieties developed at UC Davis.
Each of the new varieties has its own farming niche and will grow better in specific environments. Moxie, Royal Royce and Valiant appear to perform well throughout the long, warm days of summer, while Victor and Warrior were bred for cooler climates from Santa Maria south along California’s coast. The varieties also have other cultural advantages that could lead to reduced costs. For example, Moxie and Royal Royce could save growers some labor costs because they sprout fewer runners. Disease-resistant berries will also reduce production costs and improve environmental sustainability.
O’Donnell said new varieties take time to rise up the popularity chart as growers tend to trial them extensively as they gradually increase their acreage of the varieties that fit their specific needs best.
