For the eighth straight year, Ferris Farms in Floral City has harvested the first commercial flat of strawberries in Florida.
The farm is much smaller than its Plant City counterparts, which dominate Florida strawberry production. So getting to market first is a point of pride for Ferris, general manager Dudley Calfee told the Citrus County Chronicle.
“We plant a little bit earlier than Plant City,” Calfee told the Chronicle. “But I think more than anything it has to do with our location. The rich hammock soil that Dr. Ferris found here (Duval Island) was great for growing citrus trees and is good for growing strawberries, too. I think the island environment and ecosystem makes things a little bit kinder to us up here.”