I always plan on having extra, so that if I have a poorer year, I'll still have plenty. Plus they taste so good in the winter right out of the freezer.

Marla

We are planting like crazy for next year, but I would always opt for extra. I will freeze for our own use or make jams and jellies the day after the market (waiting on a home processor permit for selling these after we amend our kitchen a bit).

If I really get crazy amounts I would move to making fruit wines and canning juice for our use. I can't imagine a situation where I'd ever have too many berries!

Even if you can't do these things yourself, you might find someone with a commercial kitchen to make products for you, or a restaurant or baker who would buy local berries.

ok Thanks
I am working on buying 2 1/2 acres and figuring on 1 to 1 1/2 acres being berries

Berries are one of the things we are slowly working into. They sell great for us and are not in great supply in this area. They do, however, require a lot of labor to pick and this have to be priced with that in mind. Knowing how many is rather a chicken/egg thing - it takes time to get your plantings established to know if there is a market to know if you have enough of a planting to know if you can sell them (makes my head spin typing this). With our apples we know that we can not sell all of them but have a great market for cider - what does not sell we squeeze and freeze. We have some coustomers all winter calling to get cider and are almost sold out now until fall (down to maybe 40 gallons left). I guess you can figure doing something similar with your seconds and leftovers.

Tom

that I do Tom , I do have markets for the lower stuff

Ok, I WISH i could have 1-1/2 acres in berries, but we are really a microfarm, so I'm not even close. I think I would do it if I had the room, though. (Keeping in mind what Tom mentioned about the picking.)

Around here, quarts of strawberries were going for $5 and up. Raspberries and other cane berries will probably be $5/pint this season, blueberries may be higher (yikes!), so berries are well worth it.

If I were able to plant that much area, I would ease into it over a few years while you judge your market, and be extra careful to plant early-mid-late season varieties of each type of berry, so that you have the longest season possible for each type of berry. Early and late for any berry will likely sell out, since other people won't have much local fruit at those times.

Just my 2 cents (with a touch of jealousy at the idea of that much acreage in berries!) :)
Carrie