opportunities in Producing 



and Marketing Strawberries 



in New Hampshire 



By L. a. DOUGHERTY 

 Assistant Agricultural Economist 



Introduction 



A STUDY WAS MADE on marketable supplies, size, spoilage, sales, and returns 

 for strawberries in New Hampshire during the 1949 and 1950 seasons, 

 in cooperation with four commercial growers. An irrigated plot was in- 

 cluded in each year. Both seasons were unusually dry and lack of water un- 

 doubtedly reduced yields in the unirrigated plots. However, the differences 

 in size and yield were not as great as might be ejcpected. Since rainfall was 

 light during the picking period, spoilage was not excessive in either year. 



Great Bay, a new introduction of the New Hampshire Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, was included with other varieties in each year. Because of 

 its size and lateness of season, it appeared to be of commercial interest. 



Areas of Production 



Rockingham and Hillsborough counties accounted for more than one half 

 the strawberry production in New Hampshire in 1949, according to U. S. 

 Census data, while Carroll, Cheshire, and Coos counties together accounted 

 for less than 9 percent of the total production. 



Most of New Hampshire's production now goes into nearby markets. 

 Several counties produce far less than the potential consumption in season 

 as indicated in Table 1. 



Production was insufficient to supply farmers in many areas. Since many 

 poultry and dairy farmers raise no strawberries, they are potential customers. 



Per Capita Production 



Slightly more than 3 percent of our farms produced strawberries in 

 1949 and they ranged from .9 percent in Coos County to 6.1 percent of all 

 farms in Rockingham County. 



The per capita production in the counties ranged from a .07 of a quart 

 in Coos County to 1.1 quarts in Rockingham County and averaged .38 of a 



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