Taste test anyone?

In an earlier post, I shared some statistics on the caneberry industry in Oregon. As I mentioned, the majority of the fruit is used in the processing industry. The USDA-ARS Small Fruit breeding program has lots of samples to evaluate each year, some evaluations are done in the field, but since most of the fruit is used frozen, evaluations of frozen fruit is needed. So each year, Dr. Chad Finn and Brian Yorgey, his colleague from the OSU Department of Food Science, freeze lots of samples of fruit and bring it to events for public evaluation.  Above are plates of frozen red and black raspberry and blackberry fruit including named standard varieties and newer numbered selections. Attendees volunteer to evlauate (taste test) each one and fill out a form. Although it may seem daunting, Chad says that through these evaluations, some selections rise to the top each year. I am afraid to admit I only had time to taste a few before I had to give a talk and by the time I got back they were gone. Did anyone else get to taste them? Your impressions?

Berries Northwest Small Fruit Update

Each month I receive in my email inbox, a great newsletter "Small Fruit Update" put out by Tom Peerboldt, of Peerbolt Crop Management. Here is a link to the current month.

http://www.berriesnw.com/SFU/2013/SFU01-08-13.pdf

The newsletter is geared toward growers of berries in the Pacific Northwest. They publish links to statistics on volume of berries produced, in storage, pest and cultural guidelines etc for growers in the region. However, they also compile lots of information that is of interest to berry folks in the southern US. And... as our industry continues to grow, it may be helpful to know what is going on in other production areas.

The link below allows you to subscribe, once you sign up, it is sent to you on a monthly basis.
http://www.berriesnw.com/SFU.asp

Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium

"The mission of the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC) is to enhance collaborative efforts between small fruit growers and grower organizations, industries and service organizations allied with and/or serving small fruit growers, agricultural extension programs and research stations working together to enhance the development of the small fruit industries in the region."

The quote above which is slightly modified from the original form, is taken from the website of the The Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC). The SRSFC is sponsored by seven Universities in the southern US including, North Carolina State University, University of Georgia, University of Arkansas, Clemson University, University of Georgia, University of Tennessee and VA Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Every four months, a newsletter is published online by the SRSFC. The newsletter usually has several articles on recent research or extension information as well as checklists for several small fruit crops. The SRSFC also has a great website that includes IPM and production guides for small fruit crops grown in the region.

Here is a link to their website:
http://www.smallfruits.org/

Here is a link to the latest newsletter:
http://www.smallfruits.org/Newsletter/Vol11-Issue3.pdf

Market prices

Interested in prices of blackberries or raspberries throughout the US? The folks at NC Market Ready have set up a useful link to the USDA site, go to the bottom of the following page  and click where it says "USDA Fruit and Vegetable Market News", where it will allow you to run a report for blackberries or raspberries:
http://ncsu.edu/enterprises/blackberries-raspberries/category/links/