2. USA Raspberry Industry: Trends
New picture would be nice

3. Primary Production Areas

4. 2013 US Raspberry Production metric tonnes
Washington (frozen) 31,016 California (fresh) est. 44,000 Oregon (frozen) 2,428 All Other (fresh) 1,000 USA TOTAL 78,444
metric tonnes = 2,204.6 pounds

5. Land in Raspberry Production
in hectares
hectare = 2.48 acres
Washington (98% frozen) 4,050
California (95% fresh) 2,100
Oregon (80% frozen)
All Other (99% fresh) USA TOTAL 7,040

6. Growing Regions Processed Market
Whatcom County
July – Mid August
66 mil lbs/30,000 mt
Skagit/Snohomish
Late June – Mid August
2.2 mil lbs/1,000 mt
SW Washington
Mid June - August
3.4 mil lbs/1,545 mt
Oregon
5.0 mil lbs/2,272 mt
Whatcom County
Skagit County
SW Washington
Oregon

7. Machine Harvest

8. The Northwest is unique…
99% of raspberries going into the processed market are machine harvested.

10. Plantings are set up for machine harvest
Majority of raspberries are planted on raised beds
10 foot row spacing with a side wire trellising system
One machine picks acres
2-3 day picking rotations (depending on variety)

11. Trends and Projections
Major Cultivars
(based on 2013 plant sales in PNW)
Meeker %
Wakefield 25% Chemainus %
Others %
Fresh Market
Cascade Delight 3%
Tulameen %

12. Breeding Program Priority emphases
Winter hardiness
Processing canning/freezing
Root rot tolerance
Machine harvesting
Fresh market
Virus tolerance

13. Raspberry Breeding Goals
Flavor, Firmness, Size, Color
High yield
RBDV resistant
Root Rot tolerant
Machine harvestable
Aphid resistant
Fruit rot resistant
Winter hardy

14. Selection Evaluation
Evaluate two years after planting
Evaluate all fruiting seedlings at least once a week
Select ≈ 1% of seedlings

15. Machine harvest evaluation
Plant selections with cooperating grower
Evaluate as harvested year 6/7
Discard 80-90%
Then, test for yield, disease resistance, fruit quality and in grower trials

16. Plant Sale Trend by Variety

17. Total Raspberry Plant Sales

18. 2012-13 PNW Raspberry Plant Sales

19. Meeker
1967 WSU release
Willamette remained the dominant cultivar until replaced by Meeker in late 1980s – early 1990s. Was 70% of plantings, now 42%
Meeker
lighter colored
Excellent flavor
More productive
Long fruiting laterals
Machine harvesters improved to accommodate longer laterals

20. Wakefield 2008 Plant and Food Research, Ltd, NZ
Tested in NZ in and in Washington in
High yield
High percentage of IQF fruit
Recent release, but appears to be durable plant.
Plant and Food Research, Ltd

21. Chemainus 2003 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada release Mid season
Excellent fruit quality
Large
Very good yield

22. Rudi 2009 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada release Early season
Medium size
Machine harvests well
Good yield
For processing

23. Tulameen 1989 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada release
Very large fruit
Excellent fresh flavor
Long, late season

24. Main Fresh Raspberry Growing Areas
Watsonville May – Nov
Santa Maria May - Nov
Oxnard
Year Round

25. California Fresh Raspberry Production
Roughly 2,000 acres are planted for fresh market each year
75 fresh market growers in the state (estimate)
Top Varieties
Driscolls proprietary varieties
Plant Sciences proprietary varieties
NaturRipe proprietary varieties
Public Varieties (very little)

26. California Fresh Raspberry Production
Commercial plantings usually stay in ground for 2 – 3 years, usually achieving between 2 – 4 harvest cycles
Average price to grower over past few years is $2.45/lb.
5% – 10% of fresh production ends up in processed market

27. US Fresh Berry Consumption

28. 2011 California Volume vs. Industry Volume (lbs)
(source: USDA)

29. Raspberry Price to Growers
US $/kg.

30. Trends and Projections
Cost of Production
Avg. $1.25 per kg. for processed raspberries
IQF quality increases costs
Processing Plants in PNW
10 IQF plants – 2 new in 2011
18 Block Frozen
4 Juice Concentrators

31. Ongoing Challenges New cultivar development Pest management tools
International maximum residue limits (mrl)
Buffers for endangered species protection
Spotted wing drosophila
New product development leading to increased demand
Increased grower acceptance of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) – food safety, traceability
Labor Supply

32. Thank you for your attention
Thank you for your attention! We look forward to another productive IRO meeting!