Information about Strawberries
Name
Institution
Abstract
Strawberries are popular and widely consumed fruit in the US. While they are fashionable for taste and texture, nutrition-wise, they are a powerhouse in helping to complement the overall diet. The benefit of this red juicy farm product has been extended to skincare in recent years. Strawberries belong to a member of the Rosaceae family, just like apricots and apples. Although they are famous in the US, berries are thought to have originated from Europe, where ancient Roman used them as herbal. By the 1800s, strawberry, commonly referred to as Hovey variety, was grown in the US. Today, berries are grown all over in American, but some state sike California being top producers. By estimate, California produces a billion pounds of berries in a year. The characteristic of low-calorie and nutrient-dense makes them suitable as plant foods. Precisely they are rich in vitamin C. The paper provides some information about strawberries.
Keywords: Strawberries, US, farming, production, marketing, berries, California, Florida
Information about Strawberries
Strawberries have acquired a vital prominence among the various types of fruits there are in the world. In the united states, for example, this type of fruit is the fourth highest in terms of production, after grapes, apples, and oranges. By consumption, strawberry is fifth. California state accounts for the most top commercial producer of berries crop followed by Florida and Oregon (Lee, Noh, Verma & Whitaker, 2016). Consumption of fresh berries is typical compared to frozen berries, but the U.S. market for both is extensive, including importation from Mexico, Chile, and China. In addition to fresh or frozen variety, strawberries are available commercially as processed products like nectar, jams, puree, or juices. The purpose of this paper is to present researched information about Strawberries, ranging from those who make them to the trading process.
History of Strawberry Food
The berry plant belongs to a member of the Rosaceae family and genus of Fragaria. Strawberry is also known as the false fruit since fleshy red outgrowth is a receptacle of berry flower. According to historians, it is believed that the berry plant was first discovered in ancient Rome, is 234 B.C., and was used for medicine. In America, European discovered the plant in 1588 (Tabatabaie & Murthy, 2016). A variety of strawberries were discovered in the 1700s in North America.
Where Strawberries are Made
Today, California and Florida are the two top states that produce strawberries within the U.S. Californian produces about 91% of strawberries crop. In contrast, Florida provides a majority of domestic winter berries crop. In the past two decades, the industry of strawberry in the U.S. has seen an upward trend in consumption. Strawberry production is a good fit for small scale and part-time farmers. Usually, there is a significant profit from small plantations, but high chances of production difficulties intensively accompany the management of the crop (Sanchez, 2015).
How Different Workers are Paid
Most strawberries produced are consumed fresh, about 20%, and this has changed as compared to the past where 40% was processed. Typically, the price obtained for processing berries is less than that received from fresh-market strawberries. In the US agriculture, the general fieldwork is paid per hour at a low wage rate. In Florida, for instance. Workers are paid a minimum wage rate of about $8.05 per hour, according to studies in the year 2015. Some specialized work like machine operation and track drivers have a high wage of $ 12 per hour. Strawberry pickers receive payments with the rate varying on seasons or the time of harvest. Usually, at the beginning of harvest, the fruit production is low; thus, a high piece rate is paid to meet minimum wage. By average, pickers receive $2.50 to $3.00 per flat of berries in the early season.
Packing and Storage
Pickers pack strawberries in one dry open mesh baskets or clamshell containers. The clamshells are held in a tray in about 5kg. With an increased number of ventilations, berries lose water, and consistency of color stability reduces. As such, packing is done using polythene terephthalate. The potential markets for berries are direct methods like pick your own, roadsides as well as farmers’ markets.
Cost of Strawberries and Profit
Typically, there is fluctuation in the price of strawberries depending on seasons. In winter, for instance, one pound of berries may cost $5 as compared to $1 per pound in the late spring or early summer (Grujić & Odžaković, 2016). Farmer od berries producer benefit most from production, generating up to $ 33700 total revenue when selling at $3 per pound. Each berry plant can generate about 2.5 pounds of strawberries. A family tradition row farm can have up to 18000 plants per acre. Growing strawberry plants for a commercial purpose is quite profitable.
Strawberries Production and Inequalities
Production or farming of strawberries reveals potential economic inequalities in class as well between nations or states. Disparities in arming activities in terms of ethnicity, gender, or race persist in the US, and in this case, it is no exception. Certain racial groups dominate the markets or production of strawberries, for instance, Mexicans (Wu & Guan, 2015). By race, White people own berry farms while people of color are small scale farmers. Studies have also documented socioeconomic disparities in food access, the difference in chin tires, and cost. Internationally, there are also inequalities as some states dominate in the market with the supply of strawberries compared to others.
Feedback about Strawberry Information
Locating sources that contain information about strawberries was not easy. However, I used library databases like EBSCOhost and Google Scholar to find articles that detail production, history, marketing, and farming of strawberries. Since the information was not direct, it was challenging to pick details and construct a comprehensive response. One challenge experienced is a limitation of words since there was a long list of questions to address. As such, each response per question was limited to a few words, while some source obtained had detailed statistical information that may need be presented. My experience concerning this research was educative, although hard to locate sources. I have learned the history of strawberries and its current market inception to various products for flavors. Like any other farm product, strawberries are subject to agricultural factors such as soil types, weather patterns, and market demand.
References
Grujić, S., & Odžaković, B. (2016). Effect of processing conditions on strawberries sensory quality. In Proceedings of III International Congress “Food Technology, Quality and Safety”, University of Novi Sad, Institute of Food Technology (pp. 25-27).
Lee, S., Noh, Y. H., Verma, S., & Whitaker, V. M. (2016). DNA, Technology, and Florida Strawberries. University of Florida, IFAS Extension, 1-4.
Sanchez, T. F. (2015). Gendered Sharecropping: Waged and Unwaged Mexican Immigrant Labor in the California Strawberry Fields. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 40(4), 917-938.
Tabatabaie, S. M. H., & Murthy, G. S. (2016). Cradle to farm gate life cycle assessment of strawberry production in the United States. Journal of Cleaner Production, 127, 548-554.
Wu, F., & Guan, Z. (2015). Modeling the interactions of strawberry commodity and labor markets in the US and Mexico (No. 330-2016-14053).