AGRICULTURAL ALTERNATIVES
Red Raspberry Production
Raspberries are a small-fruit crop that lend themselves well to small-scale and part-time farming operations. Initial investment is high, but is primarily related to the cost of land preparation, planting, and installation of a trellis and irrigation system. Also, equipment needs on a small-acreage farm are not very great. Raspberry plantings should fruit for at least six years, and some produce for more than 20 years. Increasing demand for raspberries has kept fresh-market prices relatively stable in recent years. Growing raspberries is not for everyone, however, as they have special production requirements, as well as a very short shelf life and marketing season. Raspberries come in two basic types: red and black. Yellow raspberries are a mutation of red or black raspberries, and purple raspberries are a cross between red and black raspberries. Red raspberries have chilling requirements that limit their production to cooler regions. It is estimated that about 75 percent of all domestically grown raspberries are of the red variety, and most of these are processed. The leading red raspberry producing states are Washington and Oregon, with a combined acreage of more than 12,000 acres. Other states with small plantings include Colorado, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and parts of New England. Canada is a major producer of red raspberries, with most of the production located in British Columbia and Ontario. Red raspberries also are produced in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere.

http://agalternatives.cas.psu.edu

Marketing
Fresh-market raspberries usually are sold in half-pint cartons covered with plastic lids. Six basic marketing alternatives are available to the raspberry grower: wholesale markets, cooperatives, local retailers, roadside stands, pickyour-own operations, and processing firms. Because they are so perishable, red raspberries are well suited to