Welcome to our Fall 2020 Newsletter.....
Enormous Challenges in 2020. This is an understatement for me. The normal everyday challenges that growers face were small compared to the effects of COVID 19! However, as growers always do, we adjust and move forward. Along with the downside, there were opportunities that growers took advantage of: people reacted very positively to the pick-your-own season in 2020. Some customers acknowledged it was the best season ever! Growers with retail and farmers markets had excellent response from their customers, as well. Throughout the season we experienced high demand for all berry crops. Overall, we feel we were blessed with the opportunities presented to us.
Weather and Labor Challenges. We experience these challenges every year and have no expectation this will change. It takes extensive planning to keep a good labor team and to manage around weather events. But growers do that! We experienced two extended dry periods this season, both of which were tests for our irrigation crew. We missed having occasional moist periods to provide relief to the plants. Yet we are fortunate to have a great crop of plants to off er you for the 2021 season!
We Are Now Growing Strawberry Plug Plants. We grew our first round of plug plants in 2020, and the response from growers was positive. Looking forward to 2021, we are planning to increase production. We are still finalizing our plans: we hope to produce Galletta, Darsalect, Flavorfest and AC Valley Sunset plugs for 2021. We will provide more details on our plug production for 2021 in our Spring Newsletter. So stay tuned!
My Outlook for 2021. I feel there will be continued demand for all berry crops, and continued influence from the COVID pandemic as we experienced in 2020. I also believe there will be high demand for all berry plants for the coming year -- so I recommend that upon reviewing this Fall Newsletter, you place your order so you are protected on the varieties important to your program. Our Sales Team is here to provide the service you deserve.
All of us here at Nourse Farms thank you for all your past business and we look forward to serving you in the coming season, and to assisting you with the challenges you may face in the New Year!
My Special Thanks,