An unlikely region is now joining the strawberry production game
California and Florida lead strawberry production in the U.S., while Mexico remains the top strawberry importer. The Golden State is expected to produce nearly 90% of the nation’s crop, with the Sunshine State trailing at a distant second with 8%.
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RICHMOND, Va. – A company in Virginia is preparing for its first harvest of the 2025 strawberry season in a region not typically known for berry production.
Plenty Unlimited Inc. opened its large-scale indoor vertical farm in 2024, with its first seasonal strawberry harvest expected this year.
Since strawberries generally require temperatures of between 50 °F and 80 °F and less than 14 hours of sunlight, California and Florida remain the country’s leading producers, but the introduction of indoor farming technology aims to challenge the traditional growing methods.
"With agriculture serving as the Commonwealth's largest private sector industry, Plenty choosing Virginia for the world's first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale reinforces Virginia's leading role in the controlled environment agriculture industry," Governor Glenn Youngkin previously stated.
Strawberries growing on Plenty's 30-foot vertical towers
(Plenty Unlimited Inc. / FOX Weather)
According to the company, it plans to produce more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually at a facility measuring less than 40,000 square feet.
The 4-million-pound goal is just a drop in the bucket compared to California, which produces around 2.5 billion pounds annually, and Florida, which yields approximately 300 million pounds, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
The agency reports the two states annually produce a combined total of 98% of domestic production.
Strawberries in Florida are planted in the fall and harvested in the spring, while in California, peak planting and growing seasons usually occur in the spring and run through the autumn.
Heavy rainfall events and cold temperatures can harm the plants and make them difficult to recover from during the season.
The Plenty Richmond Farm in Virginia
(Plenty Unlimited Inc. / FOX Weather)
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Company representatives say they can compete with more established growing regions through controlled temperatures, controlled lighting and artificial intelligence.
"The AI system analyzes more than 10 million data points daily across 12 grow rooms, adjusting conditions in real-time to optimize flavor, texture, and size. Even pollination has been engineered, with Plenty utilizing a patent-pending airflow distribution method instead of traditional bee pollination, ensuring uniform fruit size and shape," Plenty Unlimited Inc. said in a news release.
Once in full swing, the farm says it plans to provide berries to around 100 million consumers that are within a one-day drive of southeast Virginia.
The $300 million investment is said to use 97% less land and upwards of 90% less water than conventional farming.
PLANT CITY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - 2023/01/15: Strawberry fields ready for harvest.
(Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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2025 production recovering from extreme weather events
Growers in the leading states of California and Florida are in the midst of a recovery, after rough bouts with extreme weather in 2024.
In the Sunshine State, growers dealt with the impacts from two significant hurricanes, while in the Golden State, roller-coaster weather from drought to too much rainfall has plagued growing areas.
"California Giant’s Florida-based growers are on track to deliver peak volumes spanning from mid-February to mid-March…Bolstering California Giant’s strawberry production is Santa Maria’s conventional and organic crop, which is anticipated to increase week-over-week, barring any major weather events. Strawberries from Mexico are currently in peak production, which is forecasted to span the month of February and into March," California Giant Berry Farms, a major producer of fresh berries, recently stated in an outlook.
To celebrate the strawberry crop in Florida, more than half a million visitors are expected to attend the annual Strawberry Festival in Plant City.
The 2025 festival is slated to run from Feb. 27 through March 9 and will provide an additional economic boost to the more than $300 million impact the fruit generates for the state.