Richland Farmers Abandon Strawberry Fields
A combination of unseasonable rains and falling market prices forces local growers to plow under their crops in favor of more reliable produce.
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Most of the growers have stopped picking strawberries on account of the low prices they are now receiving for first-class pack. The unprecedented rain has been a hard blow to the berry growers of the Richland and Kennewick districts, making the crop so late that they had to compete with native berries from all over the state, instead of arriving a good two weeks earlier. Also, the continued rains have made the fruit soft and mushy, hence it was impossible to ship to distant markets where a better price might have been obtained. A number of farmers have decided to plow up their strawberries, claiming that on account of the big risks which they have to assume from frost and other weather conditions, they can realize more from their land if planted to early potatoes, melons, or some other hardy product. It is likely there will always be a late strawberry crop in this valley, but it looms that in the future the farmers will look more toward dairying and hog raising.
“A number of farmers have decided to plow up their strawberries, claiming that on account of the big risks which they have to assume... they can realize more from their land if planted to early potatoes.”
The economic volatility of monoculture crops defined the early days of the Tri-Cities agricultural landscape. Just as these farmers shifted from berries to potatoes and livestock to mitigate climate and market risks, local agricultural producers today continue to navigate similar pressures of globalization and environmental instability.
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