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Site Selection: Strawberries can be produced on relatively wide range of soils and to be able select sites with unusual climatic conditions can produce useful manipulation of cropping season. Access to high quality water for irrigation is essential. Having an opportunity to avoid the use of mains water for cost reasons should be sought. The majority of water application is through trickel tape, which has fewer restrictions (from the Environment Agency) than overhead irrigation. However the ability to apply water overhead widens the choice of crop production systems and the financial performance. Sites should be frost free throughout the flowering and crop period. Soils should be free draining to both aid plant growth and to avoid difficulties in harvesting and critical farming operations such as; planting and tractor tasks. Soils of classification 1 - 3 should normally be considered.

Situation: Within reason many locations offer opportunity. Essentially sites that are within easy access of road transport and within reasonable distances of sundries supplies are the most easily managed.

Scale of an Individual Enterprise: Strawberry production is one of the least affected by economies of scale, proved by the reality that there are profitable 1 ha units and 100 ha units. It is more important for any location to identify an individual sites major limiting factor, this is more likely to be management ability, availability of labour and structure of supervisor activity rather then any physical agronomic factor.

Business components: Modern systems dictate that the following are key components in running a profitable enterprise: -

Cold storage: All product has to be chilled on a farm before any significant onward transport. Facilities have to have the capacity to effectively handle peak production. ideally stores should be arranged in a minimum of two chambers, one to remove field heat prior to packing and a second to bring product down to 2 - 4 deg C prior to despatch. Cold store units can be fitted within existing buildings or constructed using standard portal frame type structures within insulated panels.

Packhouses:
Farms are expected to be the most cost effective location for producing finished product. However there are exceptions where a business is close to an ecisting packhouse.Packing areas need to be clean areas devoted (during the period of production) to the handling of berry or similar products. Existing buildings can easily be modified using wall and ceiling liners, upgrading lighting and sealing floors. Packhouses are expected to operate to BRC standards and as such require facility to conduct good management of hygiene and management of quality.

Irrigation:
We strongly advoate investing in an irrigation system that can automatically apply water and feed in a prescribed manner through trickle irrigation. For these purposes provision should be made for water filtration, a system of fertiliser dilution a comprehensive sub-surface network of header pipes and solenoid controlled valves. As part of GAP it would be expected to be able to prodive a soil analysis and a corresponding fertiliser program.

Field Operations: there is a range of soil cropping systems based on using a prepared bed. Bed spacing can fit in with existing tractor spacing for other arable crops but we do advise that thought is given to developing highi specialist beds in order to achieve high yields, better quality and lower inputs. therefore it is not essential to move outside of tractors conventionally available on most farms but thought should be given to high clearance tractors. there are a number of methods used for collecting fruit from the field. The most versatile method is the use of larger refrigerated "Transit van type" vehicles usually rented for the season.

Tunnels:
We stronly recommend the use of "Spanish Tunnels" for the vast majority of production. These have the benefit of giving some manipulation of harvest period but greatest benefit is permitting good quality production and harvesting during wet conditions.

Field cropping:
There are two principal types of field production namely Summer varieties and Everbearer varieties. There are a number of variations within each type to modify the cropping period. We very strongly recommend that the production is on double row, raised beds, the density being determined by the machinery available. It is essential that production is covered with a Spanish Tunnel system, available as 8.0m or 6.5m wide hoops.

Summer varieties:
Elsanta is the principal variety, which has a traditional season cropping period. The plants can be established in a number of ways we would suggest to start production with a "60 day" planting. This uses a cold stored plant, which comes in several grades depending on planting date, soil type and availability of overhead irrigation (used only for establishment). A mid-May planting gives a production in Mid-July; an early July planting a production in September etc. A planting of similar material in an open weather period in the winter gives a normal season production and can be used to start the business off.

The "60 day" type planting allows us to manipulate the cropping period to fill gaps between over-wintered Elsanta crop and the cropping of everbearers. The crop is then over wintered and the crops the following May/June under tunnel covers. The "60 day" crop has a requirement of 12 pickers per hectare and the main crop 20-24 pickers.

Everbearers
The main variety grown is Everest, although not the best variety for eating it is proving to be one of the most profitable. The plant is usually established as a potted plant between March and may, early plantings do not usually require over-head irrigation, but are often fleeced to reduce checks by cold weather.

The first flowers are removed to build later yield and prevent the season clashing with the main season Elsanta. Production then starts in full during July and continues into November peaking in August and September. Pickers are required at the rate of 16-22 per hectare.

As the cropping period is quite distinct from the Elsanta production growers may use the tunnel covers on the main crop then move them to the everbearer production. therefore 5 ha of strawberry production can be covered with 2.5 ha of tunnels.

Key personnal
management - Strawberry production is a highly specialised function requiring managers to have a good agronomic skill (potential) and well versed in labour management particularly at peak times.

Management support - We beliebe agronomy advice from bought in consultancy is essential. It is a requirement that all enterprises are approved under the APS and we fully support the requirement that all pesticide advice is given by BASIS qualified individuals and fertiliser advice by FACTS qualified staff. On any scale of production we recommend that the functions of both packhouse and harvest management are seen as seperate functions carried out by seperate individuals. Labour costs will account for between 45 - 65% of all costs therefore the management of labour is a key skill. Field operation and packhouse labour is monitored by the use of "Pickwise" or similar information gathering and processing equipment and software.

Summer 2003