Jan 6, 2020

Survey: California strawberry acreage increases lead to optimism

Using less than 1% of California’s farmland, strawberry farms produce the fourth most valuable crop in California.

The Acreage Survey is updated twice a year, once during the fall/winter and an update in the summer.

The California Strawberry Acreage Survey is compiled from data reported by strawberry handlers in California. The report is published in advance of the crop year, and updated one time during the production season.

North America strawberry production for 2020 is expected to increase. The volume increase is achieved by continued utilization of higher yielding varieties and modest increases in California and Mexico planted acres.

Over the past five years, from 2014-2018, California farmers have introduced higher yielding varieties while decreasing acres, resulting in record levels of production year after year.

While 2019 was expected to continue this trend, a weather anomaly caused an extremely rare disruption in fruit production from late May to early June. With normal weather patterns 2020 California strawberry volume is expected to reach record levels from Easter to Independence Day.

The purple shaded area, in the survey’s first chart, projects 2020 California fresh strawberry volume, based on the two-year average weekly yield, multiplied by the 2020 reported acreage.

The chart compares the 2019 volume and the three-year average volume (2017-2019), against the projected 2020 volume.

• For 2020, California has increased fall planted strawberry acres four percent over 2019.

• California production in 2019 (orange line) experienced a drop in volume in May due to an extremely rare weather anomaly. It is unlikely the same drop will occur in 2020.

• Production levels in 2020 are projected to surpass 2019 levels (purple shaded area). High quality California strawberries are projected to be widely available starting in April.

For the full 2020 Acreage Survey results, visit here.

– California Strawberry Commission