Raspberry Farmers Raise Prices to Compensate for High Costs

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Story Published: Jul 12, 2008 at 9:06 PM PST

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

Darrell Key has been growing raspberries for 30 years. He helps make Oregon and Washington the nation's top producers of the berries. But this year's unseasonably cold spring and sudden record heat have made it hard to keep up.

"That was probably the worst thing that's ever happened," said Key. "It's a freak deal. It's never happened before, probably never will again."

The cold hasn't been his only obstacle. Raspberry farmers are dealing with a labor shortage, and the price of fertilizer tripled since last year. Driving the berries from his farm in Milton Freewater to the market, hasn't gotten any cheaper, either.

The cost of raspberries across the Northwest doubled since last year as a result.

"If you're a young man, there's lots more things to do to make more money than farming," said Key.

Although pros who have farmed raspberries for decades say they've never had it so tough, others thought they'd try it out anyway.

"We just got interested in trying something new, diversifying, so we planted some a couple years ago now" said Vic Aichele, a beginning raspberry farmer from Hermiston. "This is our first crop, and we're learning. There's a learning curve."

So far, his first year selling the berries has been a success.

"It's working real good," said Aichele. "We've been able to sell every one of them, and the people have been tickled with them. That makes you feel good."

But Aichele doesn't deny the ever-present pressure to keep up with the bottom line.

"You can't live on fun very long," he said. "It's gotta be for profit."

The raspberry industry in both Washington and Oregon has been growing for the past couple years. Last year, Washington produced more than 53 million pounds of the fruit.

The numbers aren't in for this year yet-- farmers will still be harvesting for a couple more weeks.

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