Mirroring an industry-wide trend, Eclipse Berry Farms LLC, a longtime California strawberry grower and shipper in Ventura County, has increased its acreage in the Santa Maria district, which is about 100 miles farther north.

Unlike other Oxnard strawberry growers, Eclipse has not decreased its acreage in that district but owner Stuart Gilfenbain said it is getting much more difficult to get good production out of Oxnard. He said marginal water quality, marginal soil and marginal varieties have seen that district’s acreage decline by about 35 percent over the last three years.

Eclipse Berry Farms Fronteras strawberries.“This season Oxnard has 6,812 acres planted according to the California strawberry acreage survey,” he said. “Just three years ago, in 2013, Oxnard had 10,271 acres.”

Gilfenbain said this should translate into fairly strong markets for the first three holidays in which Oxnard strawberries have a starring role: Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), Easter (March 27) and Mother’s Day (May 8). On Jan. 22, he said the market was about as hot as he had ever seen it at this time of year because of decreased supplies from California, Florida and Mexico.

While Oxnard has seen its acreage drop over the past several years, a couple of relatively new short-day varieties from the University of California breeding program may see that trend reverse itself. Gilfenbain said both the Fronteras and Petaluma varieties have performed well in trials and his firm is planting them in greater volume this year. A short-day variety literally means it performs well during the fall and winter months when the position of the sun means shorter days. “We’re very excited about Fronteras. It looks like a great variety that sizes well,” he said.

According to the UC Davis Strawberry Cultivar Improvement Program: “The fruit for Fronteras is substantially larger and firmer” than previous varieties used in the area, and it has better flavor and higher yields than comparison cultivars.

Also serving on the sales desk with Gilfenbain for Eclipse is Ashley West, who has been with the company for almost five years.