CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Picking strawberries is a popular springtime activity in Chesapeake, but global conflicts are making the season look a little different for local farmers. Hickory Ridge Farm is gearing up for its 13th strawberry season, but farmers say record-high diesel prices and shipping costs are impacting operations.
Just off Battlefield Boulevard South in the Hickory neighborhood, family-owned and operated Hickory Ridge Farm is getting ready for its 13th strawberry season. However, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is impacting fuel and shipping costs.
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for over a month due to the conflict. While one-third of the world's fertilizer passes through the strait, farmer John Pierce said those specific costs have not hit strawberry growers as hard as corn and soybean farmers. Instead, record-high diesel prices are hitting the farm directly.
"Obviously any of our tractors that are running off the diesel fuel are going to be affected by the new price, without a doubt," John Pierce said. "Whenever I have to go refill our tanks to fill the tractors, yes, we definitely feel that part of it."
Transportation costs for supplies, such as the buckets used for picking strawberries, are also rising. Because of the fluctuating prices, the farm has not yet settled on a price for U-pick strawberries this season.
"We're trying to weigh in the most recent news and things with fuel prices and all that," John Pierce said. "Not all of that has trickled through. It's starting to."
Last year, strawberries cost $3.89 to $3.99 a pound at Hickory Ridge Farm. John Pierce noted that whenever fuel prices spike, the costs ultimately pass through the system and heighten prices for everyone.
Despite the economic uncertainty, the Pierce family is confident they will have a successful growing season and are not worried about customer turnout.
"People love coming out and picking," farmer Noah Pierce said. "It allows the kids to come out and see firsthand where they can get fruit from, from the plants themselves, and not just from cartons in the store."
John Pierce said the farm's three acres of strawberries offer an experience and quality that grocery stores cannot match. Grocery chains often contract with mass growers who farm 1,000 acres or more, requiring the berries to be picked before they are perfectly ripe so they can be shipped.
"We can never compete with any of the major chains on price, but most of the time, what we can beat all of them at, is taste," John Pierce said. "Because we're picking it fresh off the plant."
Strawberry season typically runs from mid-April through mid-June.
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