By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
NEWPORT, Ark. — If you love fresh Arkansas strawberries, farmer Bill Landreth has a simple message: Come and get ‘em now!
A relatively warm winter and spring has prompted some farms to have strawberries three weeks earlier than usual. Landreth, who owns Berries by Bill in Jackson County, is no exception.
AVAILABLE NOW — Arkansas strawberries are ready for picking now. (U of A System Division of Agriclture file photo).
“On average, we’d start picking somewhere around April 20 or 25th,” Landreth said. This year, “I started a week ago, Friday,” which was April 5.
“Eight out of ten phone calls I get during the day are asking ‘when will your berries be ready?’” Landreth said. “I tell them we started picking a week ago.”
“I don’t even have that many peddlers calling,” he said, referring to people who buy his berries and sell them on the roadside. “Usually, they pester the dickens out of you.”
“Eight out of ten phone calls I get during the day are asking ‘when will your berries be ready?’” Landreth said. “I tell them we started picking a week ago.”
“I don’t even have that many peddlers calling,” he said, referring to people who buy his berries and sell them on the roadside. “Usually, they pester the dickens out of you.”
Early wake-up call
Amanda McWhirt, extension specialist-horticulture crops for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said warm temperatures from late February and into March were an early wake-up call for berry plants. The plants take about 30 days from bloom to ripe fruit.
“Plants ‘woke’ up earlier and started flowering,” she said. “We were able to protect blooms through several freezes.”
Landreth said he worries about whether the three-week-early start will also mean a three-week-earlier-end to the season, with regular buyers missing out because of the shift.
Earlier farmers market starts?
Matthew Davis, Jackson County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said “customer volume is a big factor for these groups — the strawberries, peaches, any fruit and vegetable crop this year.
“Farmers markets could open sooner this year along with many roadside stands if weather is favorable,” Davis said.
He said fruit and vegetable growers, are always at the mercy of Mother Nature. Severe weather that usually happens in the spring can have a major impact on an early harvest, like this year.
“Call your producers now and check in to see if early harvest may happen. Waiting may not be a good option with the unpredictable nature of the weather,” Davis said. We could have a storm tomorrow with hail and lose all production instantly. Currently, strawberries are moving readily for our area, but we may see other items potentially move up later in the season."
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.