Farmers destoying bumper Strawberry crop in Florida.

[Saltheart]

The farmers are destroying their strawberries in Florida because the bumper crop has depressed the price. They say the bumper crop is do to all the watering they did to protect the plants from frost. All the extra watering has used up so much water in the area that the neighboring people are having their wells dry up do to the water table drop. Now , with the resulting big crop , the farmers are destroying the fruit instead of selling it or giving it away.

Something jsut not right about thiscwhen every city in the US has soup kitchens for hungry poor people. Yeah I know they are business men but hell , the least they could do is let people come in and pick them rather than destroying them. They claim liability issues if they let peole pick them. Strange world it has become.

[Raven]

mono culture having no diversity
causes many problems

maybe the could have sold it to smuckers for jam

[buckman]

Well, They sell strawberries for a living, not for fun. What they do to survive in this economy and feed their families is their business. Giving away your product when supply already out weighs demand is not a great business plan.

However, with the current glut of plugs on the market, I would like to be first inline when they start giving them away.

[Redsoxticket]

The farmers would be the first in line for government money to recover from crop damage.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Saltheart]

I understand its a business but if you get nothing for them by destroying them then why not get nothing for them by letting people take them and save yourself the effort it takes to destroy them.

They claim it costs more to harvest them and bring them to market than they will get for them when sold. So why pay to have someone chop up the berries , why not give them away at no cost to them.

I'm sure its more complicated than that but its a shame to see the crop go to waste after they put everyone in a water bind trying to save them from frost by running sprinklers earlier in the season.

I have not seen the rpice of Smuckers Strawberry preserves go down yet. I bet we never see it at that level.

[MakoMike]

Maybe they don't want to give them away because if they do it will depress the prices even more?

[buckman]

Originally Posted by Redsoxticket

The farmers would be the first in line for government money to recover from crop damage.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

To bad they can't make ethanol out of them. Then the goverment can mandate that everybody burn it and they can get rich faster then Bush on Iraq oil reserves

[chrisjoe13]

Originally Posted by buckman

To bad they can't make ethanol out of them. Then the goverment can mandate that everybody burn it and they can get rich faster then Bush on Iraq oil reserves

I think this is what the Germans did with the potato farmers 80 years ago.