Monday, May 01, 2006

A berry, berry good idea

North Carolina's farmers and experts at N.C. State University hope that the growing (and commercial) season of the state's strawberries can be extended. Currently, the window of commercial opportunity is shorter in North Carolina compared to other states, notably California. But if a solution can be found, the strawberry industry could grow into a huge economic engine for the state.

According to the News & Observer, strawberries are more lucrative than just about any other crop North Carolina farmers grow, "bringing in an average of $1,500 an acre, according to N.C. State University's Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics." In fact, that's "comparable with tobacco in its heyday, which brought farmers between $1,000 and $3,000 an acre before the government stopped propping up the price last year. It's a far cry from traditional row crops such as corn and soybeans, which usually bring farmers less than $50 an acre."

Not too shabby.

"We have at least a generation of Americans who have no earthly idea what a good strawberry tastes like," Jim Ballington, an NCSU researcher and the state strawberry breeder, told the paper, citing that California has berries with a longer shelf life but hardly the flavor of a good strawberry. "Shelf life is the only thing that matters."

Ballington hopes the strawberry researchers can figure out a way to extend the season enough "that they would have a fighting chance at breaking into the grocery store market."

But here's to hoping that the flavor isn't sacrificed. That would be berry bad.

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