Butler County strawberry growers deal with dry spell
Early June marks the start of strawberry season in Western Pennsylvania. Unfortunately for both growers and consumers in the area, Mother Nature is making this a less fruitful season.
A combination of high temperatures and periods of little to no rainfall has led some farms to lower-than-expected production of berries, especially strawberries, which generally require 1 to 2 inches of rain per week to keep their roots from drying out.
Already, sacrifices have had to be made. Earlier this week, Soergel Orchards in Wexford announced the cancellation of its annual Strawberry Festival, which was scheduled for Sunday, June 11. The strawberry crop in Soergel’s fields simply wasn’t big enough this year.
“We understand the disappointment this news may bring, as the festival holds a special place in our hearts,” wrote head farmer Adam Voll on Facebook. “We don’t feel like we can provide an experience that you have grown to love and expect while you're here.”
Some farms, such as Bekah Farms in Saxonburg, managed to pull off a decent supply of strawberries this year thanks to having a system of irrigation and a steady water source in place. Bekah Farms uses nearby freshwater ponds and wells as a backup water source for its crops.
“As long as the ponds don’t dry up, it shouldn’t be a problem,” said Rebekah Brewer, owner of Bekah Farms. “But it will definitely be more challenging to make sure they get enough water.”
But other farms, such as Soergel, are not so fortunate. While Soergel has some fields in Butler with other crops, the bulk of the farm’s strawberries are being grown at their main field in Wexford, which is isolated from sources of water other than what the sky provides.
“On some of the properties, there’s just not water access,” Voll said. “I don’t have either city water or surface water or wells in order to be able to irrigate.”
Several factors, including a series of cold spells during the winter, have led to lower-than-usual strawberry production for Soergel.
“Around the first of the year, we had these real low and negative temperatures, which is not good for some of these types of plants,” Voll said. “Then in the spring it got real warm early, and then you throw the drought, and it was just a cluster of things that made for some lower production.”
Despite the difficulties elsewhere, Grove City is still scheduled to go ahead with the 32nd annual Strawberry Days festival starting Friday, June 9, at Grove City Memorial Park.
