Growing Commercial Strawberries
In Saskatchewan
                                                   Information for New Growers
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New growers entering the commercial industry need to meet these basic requirements:
1. suitable land
2. access to water (of suitable quality and quantity)
3. finances that allow a substantial level of investment and input costs
4. apply intensive management skills to the crop in a precise and timely manner
5. determine market potential
6. the willingness to accept risk!

Start out SMALL!  Gradually increase the size of your operation as your expertise and experience also increase.
Before choosing your strawberry plants, first consider your market.  Your decisions should follow this sequence:

 
MARKET PRODUCT SYSTEM PLANT
Do you want a pick your own (PYO) operation? Or strawberries for processing? 
Choose this first.
 The type of market determines the quality requirements of your product. Eg. size of the berry for a PYO market is important, while for processing, size is not. Different production systems are recommended for the different types of strawberry plants.  Link Strawberry plants display three different growth habits:  Ever bearers, day neutrals and June bearers.  Link
PYO
good tasting, general purpose fruit
Ribbon row
June bearers
Processing
tart, firm fruit
Matted row
Jun bearers or day neutrals
Local Restaurants
dependable supply
Plasticulture
Day neutrals