Early summer in the Pacific Northwest is when strawberries start ripening.  And whether they’re in your grandmother’s backyard, someone’s yard down the road, or in a berry farm near you, there is a good chance there will be some types of berries near you. And with a few phone calls or knocks on the door, people are often happy to see their crop harvested. Some large berry farms will offer U-pick rates on their harvest, which means that they will charge a set rate for their berries—this is where the real money in the berry industry is. The farmers are able to plant a field of plants, let them grow until ripe, and then get paid for people to do the work in collecting their berries.

The same farms will often buy berries at a set rate that they can then resell at a substantial markup. This is also one of the main reasons berry farms are profitable—they can pay people to pick berries which they are able to resell for more money. By using the business’ resources to target a wider audience, they are able to find outlets for their product with orders that most people wouldn’t be able to fill by themselves. This is also the most effective and suggested way to make money picking any type of berry. Without multiple sources of berries and multiple possible outlets to sell them, there would be no money to be made with this method. Thankfully, the demand for local and fresh produce is on a steady decline, and there are dozens of unexpected places that will buy your berries and either make use of them, or repackage them and use them in other ways.

To really make money picking berries, I can only suggest one thing--get out there and do it! If you don't start learning about the market and process now, then when will you get around to it? Since you're probably planning on either eating or selling your berries, you'll want to make sure to keep them looking as appealing as you can. Nobody wants to buy a tray of squishy, bug infested berries.

Wild Raspberries and Strawberries--Yum!