PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Agriculture reports that strawberry season is underway in Rhode Island. Now through late June, locally-grown strawberries will be available at numerous pick-your-own berry farms throughout the state.
DEM Director Janet Coit knows first-hand how excellent the strawberry harvest is at Rhode Island farms. "One of my favorite things to do at this time of year is to visit a local berry farm and pick loads of beautiful, sweet, succulent strawberries. They are fun to pick and out-of-this-world delicious!"
"By visiting pick-your-own berry farms you know you're getting fresh, local product, you choose the berries, and it's fun for the whole family," says Ken Ayars, chief of DEM's Division of Agriculture.
Agriculture provides numerous benefits to Rhode Island's economy, quality of life, open space, and access to local foods and horticultural products. Rhode Island has 1,219 farms, mostly family run, which occupy 61,000 acres. A national leader in direct-sales to consumers, the state has 50 seasonal farmers markets in urban, suburban and rural areas, seven indoor winter markets, and numerous pick-your-own farm stand operations.
For a list of local berry farms arranged by location, visit DEM's website at www.dem.ri.gov, and click on Agriculture in Rhode Island at the left side of the homepage. Please call ahead to confirm picking times.