Strawberry harvest hits peak season

A row of big rigs wait at the Dole plant on West Beach Street to pick up their load of local berries and other produce. (Photo by Tarmo Hannula).

WATSONVILLE—The peak of the strawberry harvest is well under way and local producers are seeing a bumper crop.

“We are ahead of where we were last year in the Watsonville-Salinas area,” said Carolyn O’Donnell, communications director of the California Strawberry Commission. O’Donnell adds that California is experiencing an overall increase in acreage, with 38,373 acres and Watsonville-Salinas leading the pack with 15,382 acres planted for 2012.

“We need a sign across Main Street that says ‘Strawberry Capital of the World,” said Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant Strawberry. California Giant Strawberry has fields in Oxnard and Santa Maria, but the majority of its operation is the Watsonville-Salinas district.

For the complete article see the 06-26-2012 issue.

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