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Oregon celebrates a berry good product
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7/6/2011
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Article Content
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Oregon has a great reputation for growing quality berries
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Oregon Berry Festival focuses on high quality fruit
As a wide variety of Oregon berries ripen this summer, growers and processors expect a two-day celebration this month to bear fruit in terms of generating publicity and appreciation for the agricultural specialty. The Oregon Berry Festival, held July 22-23 in Portland, highlights all that is good about berries including their high quality, excellent health benefits, and great taste.
"I like to use the word ‘premium' to describe our wonderful and delicious berries," says Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Katy Coba. "How many times are we told to eat something because it's good for us and it actually tastes great as well? Anyone who has eaten an Oregon-grown berry knows just how special it is. The Oregon Berry Festival is a chance to celebrate that special nature."
Four Oregon berry groups have joined together for the first time to promote their commodities at the festival, which is funded in part by a USDA Specialty Crop Grant award administered through ODA. The collaboration includes the Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission, the Oregon Strawberry Commission, the Oregon Blueberry Commission, and the Oregon Cranberry Growers Association.
Despite a slow start to the growing season, Oregon berries will be ripe and ready well in advance of the festival. Strawberries are just now in full swing with early blueberries and raspberries beginning to come onto the scene. Oregon leads the nation in production of commercial blackberries and black raspberries. It's third in production of blueberries and red raspberries. It ranks fourth in production of cranberries. Oregon is not just known for its berry quantity, but also berry quality.
"We live in an area where the climate and growing conditions are superior to any other berry growing place in the world," says Don Sturm of Corbett, whose family berry farm has been in business for more than 50 years. "We have a superior quality product that comes with high food safety standards."
Some Oregonians may not agree that the weather is perfect, but berry growers are satisfied.
"Oregon's climate provides the perfect stress level for berries," says Cat McKenzie, marketing director of the Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission. "Oregon State University studies show that stress causes berries to produce higher levels of polyphenols, which protect berries from disease. When we eat those berries, we also get the benefit of that protection."
In recent years, Oregon berries have cashed in on health claims backed up through research. Consumer demand for berries has skyrocketed as diets incorporate healthier foods. One study ranked foods for anti-oxidant value. Anti-oxidants neutralize the effects of free radicals- those unstable compound molecules that can attack human cells and damage DNA. Several berries that are grown in Oregon crack the top ten, including blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, and blueberries.
"I just participated in a health conference where it was discussed that you can fight aging diseases by consuming berries," says McKenzie. "Even if you eat moderate amounts- a half cup a day- you will be much healthier. Another important benefit of berries is fiber. A cup of blackberries, for instance, has more fiber than a cup of bran cereal. Which one would you rather eat?"
McKenzie notes that berries are not a treatment, but a preventative. It's never too early to start eating them. The health benefits for children are especially important. Parents should introduce berries to kids as a snack. Whether they are fresh, frozen, or used in yogurt or a smoothie, kids are getting the same health benefits.
The berries are good for you, but it doesn't hurt that they taste good too.
"Taste is still the number one reason people buy and eat Oregon berries," says McKenzie. "Without good taste, all the health benefits in the world won't do any good because people aren't going to eat anything that tastes terrible. We all know that Oregon berries taste great."
For growers like Don Sturm, health benefits and good taste are a winning combination.
"Thirty years ago, I would have never thought that two of my business partners would be cancer doctors," he says. Sturm Farms not only grows the berries but sells frozen berries and a variety of jams, syrups, and other value-added products.
Oregon berries and all they can do will be on display at the festival. The two-day event includes a farmers market in the parking lot of the Ecotrust Building in Portland featuring fresh berries and food made with berries. Inside the building, there will be an Oregon berry trade show for businesses with value-added products for display and sampling. There will also be a tour bus to transport those interested to Kruger's Farm on Sauvie Island to see how berries are grown. A special chef's cookoff will feature six of Portland's finest in a contest of who can come up with the best recipe using Oregon berries. All these events are free. A gala dinner also featuring Oregon berries as part of the meal will conclude the festival and is the only event requiring payment.
Growers are looking forward to showing off the wonders of Oregon berries.
"We have a commodity that could really be something unique and could put a lot of people to work if we can put it all together," says Sturm. "I think the Oregon Berry Festival will help people see what we have to offer and give them a chance to sample the berries as well."
In 2010, five berry crops cracked Oregon's top forty agricultural commodities in production value. Blueberries ranked 16th at $59 million, blackberries ranked 19th at $37 million, strawberries ranked 32nd at $16 million, cranberries ranked 37th at nearly $11 million, and raspberries ranked 39th at $9 million.
"My hope for the future is for Oregon berries to be considered by everyone as the world's premium berry," says Sturm. "We grow a food-safe product with a good taste that has a lot of health benefits."
It's an Oregon-grown product worth celebrating.
Oregon Berry Festival information
Media contacts: Cat McKenzie at (541) 456-2264 or Darcy Kochis at (503) 505-3876.
Story of the Week pdf version
http://oregon.gov/ODA/docs/pdf/news/110706berry.pdf
Audio Story of the Week
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/110706berry_audio.shtml
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