Strawberry prices hit rock bottom!

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myakkagldwngr

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They had an article on the news last night that said due to the weather around the country the strawberry prices have got so low they can't afford to pick them. They showed a field that was almost totally red from the berrys being left in it.
I'll guarantee you though, they will plow them under before they let anyone upick. Too much liability to worry about.
They are still $1.88 a pound in the supermarkets.
 
That's a shame. People are starving and we'd rather destroy them than give them away.

Around here some of the restaurants will throw away bread rather than give it to the food bank. Too much liability.
 
Over my lifetime as a farmer, which was a few years back, I have personally plowed under easily hundreds of millions of pounds of tomatoes at the end of the season. We would let people upick, but mostly it would be people coming out to buy them to resell to the road side stands. Even at a dollar for twenty pounds we made some money, but in the end there was still unbelievable amounts left.
I'm not for certain, but I can see the big growers afraid that if they opened the strawberries for upick, the supermarket chains my retaliate by not paying the price when the berries are really high.
 
I wonder if their ears were burning? One of the strawberry growers North of us was on the tv just a little while ago saying tomorrow and tomorrow only from 9am to 4pm they will open one of their fields for upick to food banks and the public for free. They ask for a donation to a charity they are supporting.
It will be worth the 100 mile round trip. At least be a good road trip on the Goldwing. :db
 
cant wait till our berries come in!! wanna start that berry wine NOW! oh and some choc coverd berries ...but those are for the kid...i swear!
 
Right now, I'm feeling like Austin Powers!!!!!
Yeah baby, yeah, yeah, yeah, OH YEAH!

Alright, I'm spent!

I had to run to town to hit an ATM, so the trip up was 75 or 80 miles. I left home at about 7:15 am and didn't waste any time getting there.
By the time I pulled into the upick, there was already at least 200 people standing in line to get a box or three to pick in. The field manager there announced to everyone that all they asked was give what you could afford and use there boxes to pick in.
By the time I left at about 10:45 am, there was easily 1500 people in the fields. Cops were having to direct traffic and people were steadily coming and going.
I picked a flat then put it into a garbage bag to pack into my boxes easier on the Goldwing. I ended up with two big garbage bags, and a flat tied onto the upper box rack.
The best I can figure is that I have somewhere between 75 and 80 pounds of berries with the stems still on.
I guess the Good Lord does look after fools and idiots. I'm going to get to make my strawberry wine I wanted.
 
Here in North west we have had the mildest winter ever and with valleys here filled with strawberry fields price may go even lower. I u pick every year here, the farmers have never had a problem u picking at end of season. I prefer real ripe strawberries for wine any way. Now its the rassberries I rreally want this year
 
Myak, that is so awomse! lucky you! icant imagine how you hauld 80lbs on a goldwing! (a goldwing is a bike correct? im not loosing my mind yet am i?)
 
Now the real begins. Destemming and freezing. Or, are you gonna steam juice or just make wine...
 
With my limited finances and equipment I'll just make wine. I finished up about 45 minutes ago destemming and cutting into halfs at a minimum. If it was big, I cut it into quarters.
Stupid is as stupid does, I sat at my big wash sink I've recently set up, in the sun for a few hours. It felt good for a change then, but I'm a little red and feeling the heat now.
I saved a big quart of whole berries for my 81 year old mother. Then saved a quart or so for us cut up and still ended up with close to 75 lbs of cut up berries. So my estimate of 80 lbs was off. Who would guess, using the big fat butt on the bathroom scales method.
Now I've got three primary buckets with almost 25 lbs of berries each, sitting covered with 3 campden tablets each and 1 1/2 tsp of P/E with enough hot water to cover the berries. I'll let them set till I get back from the blood bank tomorrow morning and then start deciding just what I want to do with them.
 
Oh and yes Jeepinchick, a Goldwing is a motorcycle. But a big motorcycle. Saddle bags and an upper box with a rack on top of it. Close to 750 lbs dry of unbelievable comfort and pleasure. Water cooled and if you need to, 85 mph all day long on the interstate. In '07 the wife and I took off on a you've got to be crazy vacation and covered 15 states in 15 days. 4000 miles and carried way too much stuff with us. Only washed clothes twice.
If we had the money we would leave again tomorrow!
 
oh wow! hubby wants a bike, but there is NO WAY im getting on behind him!! i barley like gettin in a car with him LOL!
 
Heck, if you ever took a ride on a Goldwing you would be sold. The new ones come with heated seats, arm rests for the rear passenger, the box has a back rest built into it. Some of the guys on a Goldwing forum I belong to talk about taking their kids for a ride and using a belt to tie them on so they can fall asleep and not fall off. Stereos, intercoms, blue tooth, you name it you can get it. And though the Honda Goldwing is an expensive bike new, you can find good used models for a great price. Mine is an '85 with 150,000 mile on her and if I had the money I would take off tomorrow for Alaska.
Unlike the Harleys you see going down the road, the Goldwing is so quite. Like a big reclining chair on wheels.
 
The new ones come with heated seats, arm rests for the rear passenger,.



not to be a big ole baby , but .....my Sonata has heated seat and arms rests for anyone sitting by a door!!!! LMAO!!! the other half tends to disagree hehehehehe
 
80 pounds! thats 6 gallon batch and a he11 lot of short cake. Save some for breakfast, as in strawberry pancakes, dont forget midnight strawberry snacks. OOOOOOO I love strawberries
 
Actually, I'm planning a 10 gallon batch. Finally I get to do one that might give me something to set back for a little bit. With what I have in the primarys I should get the 10 gallons and then some to top off with too.
We did put some back for shortcake.
 
that is still alot of berries for 10 gallon batch, strawberries in ice cream is great too
 

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