Ferris Farms in Floral City,(Citrus County, Florida) once again has the distinction granted from the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) to be the first to harvest their commercial strawberries of the 2011-12 season.
Dudley Calfee, general manager of Ferris Farms in Floral City, recently received recognition from the Florida Strawberry Growers Association for harvesting the first commercially harvested flat of strawberries in the 2011-12 growing season. This is the fifth consecutive year the farm has received the distinction. Calfee says the 12-acre strawberry field will produce between 35,000-40,000 flats of berries during the season. Ferris Farms harvests berries over an 83-acre area. Read more here.
And check this...Florida scientists have created a new kind of strawberry!
The new berry has been released by the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. The Winterstar ( a hardy, early blossoming berry that is a cross between the Florida Radiance and Earlibrite varieties. (Check out more strawberry varieties here)). Experts believe it will bring a sweeter, early blossoming fruit to farmer's fields. Developing these berries can be a long and tedious process, as much as 30,000 seedlings have to be evaluated. It's the 12th different type of strawberry that the Florida breeding program has released. More here.
Florida's strawberry industry is worth $800 million to $900 million annually to the state, according to Ted Campbell, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.
New Varieties Developed at GCREC - In 2000, the University of Florida GCREC-Dover was pleased to announce the development of two new varieties to be released for commercial use in the near future. These two varieties are named 'Earlibrite' in tribute to Dr. Earl Albregts and 'Strawberry Festival' in honor of the annual Strawberry Festival held in Plant City, Florida.
In 2001, 'Carmine' was released to the public. Perhaps not as sweet as 'Sweet Charlie', 'Carmine' appeals to growers because of its deep red color and longer shelf life, which is imperative for Florida growers who ship most of their fruit to northern states.
Strawberries are always a great treat, and good for you. If you're in the Tampabay area and want to indulge in all the scrumptious strawberries you could ever want, make sure to take the family to the annual Floral City Strawberry Festival. (It's not quite as big as the Plant City, FL Strawberry Festival, but for all it's small town charm, and less hassle for traffic/parking/etc...it's totally worth it to make the trip to Floral City).
Floral City Strawberry Festival Date: 3/3/2012 TO 3/4/2012
Time: 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM
Floral Park
9530 S. Parkside Avenue
Floral City, FL 34436
Phone:(352) 795-3149
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