Calling All Strawberry Growers!
Fresh, local strawberries are needed for this year’s West Virginia
Strawberry Festival to stock a “Strawberry Market” planned for the
May 9-17, 2015 event.
The Strawberry Festival board, the
City of Buckhannon and the West
Virginia Department of Agriculture
(WVDA) are working cooperatively with
private farmers to have
local berries for sale
at locations throughout
West Virginia’s
“strawberry city.”
“This great festival is an
excellent opportunity for
local farmers to benefit
from the visitors that pour
into Upshur County each
May,” said Commissioner
of Agriculture Walt
Helmick. “But like the
other tremendous foodrelated opportunities in our
state, we need more growers to
become involved.”
While local growers have continued
to produce small amounts of berries for
the traditional strawberry auction and
other festival events, retail sales of West
Virginia berries has been nearly nonexistent for decades. At one time, the area
grew a surplus of strawberries that were
shipped out of state following the festival.
One undated historical report in the
archives of the Upshur County Historical
Society notes that more than 1,500 gallons
of berries were shipped to Pittsburgh. It
also said that farmers would be supplying
cherries, raspberries and currants “later
in the season.” But over the years, that
supply was replaced by berries from largescale, out-of-state producers.
12 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
However, local berries made a
reappearance in 2014. WVDA project
coordinator Buddy Davidson said that
the few berries provided by
state growers sold well last
year.
“We sold 200 pints of
berries at quite a premium
over farmers’ market
prices, and that was
only at one location and
only over two days,”
Davidson said. “I think
we can duplicate that
number at three or
four other locations in
Buckhannon.”
He noted that the
timing of the festival
has been problematic
for growers, who have
had a difficult time having
berries ripe in mid-May.
The increasing prevalence
of high tunnels – low-cost,
unheated greenhouse-type
structures – makes fresh berries in mid-May a
more practical proposition than in past years.
In fact, many farmers report using the tunnels
to grow some types of produce year-round.
For more information, contact WVDA
Communications Officer Buddy Davidson
at 304-558-3708, 304-541-5932 (cell), or
[email protected].
photo credit: istockphoto.com/AnthiaCumming