New Florida berry farm starts to meet high demand

Overview of berries from Florida in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on December 20, 2023.

The new FD Berries US Farm in Sebring, Florida has started with their first harvest to supply a market in high demand. The new US farm of 100 acres (40 hectares) of blueberries and strawberries was started by Sam Ahilan, CEO of FD Berries and his team following successful farming operations in Mexico over the past few years.

“Our new operation is in full swing. Strawberries are being picked now. We began picking two weeks ago and we are picking 50-100 flats per acre per pick. We are picking four to six days a week in rotation. The fruit size is very good and sugar content is good! For this initial season we are targeting 3,000 plus flats per acre. Blueberries are also looking good and we anticipate our initial harvest will begin in late February. We expect 1,000+lb per acre initially,” states Mr. Ahilan.

He says the demand is sky-high as they are targeting a period that has traditionally seen lower supplies. “Demand is extremely high for strawberries. We are picking Florida varieties now but have some exciting varieties in R&D that will be picked soon. These include: UC Davis, and more. For blueberries we will be picking Arcadia, Avanti, and Sentinel initially.”

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Bobby Barden, in charge of operations at the Sebring based farm, says while they are starting out to supply the US market first, they will expand very quickly to supply the rest of North America. “We are excited about our initial production and see great potential to offer excellent quality berries gown in the US for the North American market. Florida berries represent a supply for a critical window in the berry world and we have significant export opportunities.”

Premium substrate is one of the keys to growth and increasing yield. “Fibredust coco coir is an organic renewable resource, made from the husk of the coconut,” says Andrew Pidgeon from Fibredust. “Coir provides a consistent PH, unmatched aeration, low bulk density, and a host of other attributes that benefits the crop”. The new Calcigro product which is organically buffered provides a significant advantage by lowering the salt content even more and providing good pathway for nutrient uptake. They have made a full transition from substrate producers and suppliers to owners of successful berry farms in Mexico and now the US.

“There’s well over 400k plants of the leading berry varieties planted over the last few months in True Blue substrates from Fiberdust and Costa Sur. These together with good management brings visibly good growth levels in a matter of weeks,” Pidgeon continued.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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