By Malinda Geisler, content specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University.

Revised December 2006.


Overview
Raspberries come in red, black, purple and yellow varieties. There are summer-bearing varieties that produce one crop between July and August. Fall-bearing raspberries grow a large crop in the fall and a small crop the following summer.

Washington State leads the nation in red raspberry production. In 2005, Washington raised 70.3 million pounds of red raspberries valued at $39.2 million. Oregon leads the United States in black raspberry production with 4.2 million pounds grown in 2005, valued at $10.4 million.

• Fruits and Tree Nuts Briefing Room, Economic Research Service, USDA.

Other Links

•  2005 Pest Management Guide for Commercial Small Fruits, Washington State University - This research-based document outlines cultural and chemical controls for raspberries as well as blueberries and strawberries. It includes integrated pest management methods for insects, diseases and weeds.
• Beach Street Farms was established in 1995 by four California growers to be a premium quality berry-growing company. In addition to raspberries and blackberries, Beach Street Farms is a grower and exporter of strawberries. The company has since developed packaging to meet customer needs and increased efforts in organic berries.
• Brambles – Production management and marketing, Ohio State University. This online document reviews the management, pests and marketing of blackberries and raspberries.
•  Crop Profile for Red Raspberries in Washington, Washington State University, 1998 - This site provides a general overview to raspberry production.
•  Demand, Supply and Trade: National and Northwest Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Sweet Corn and Snap Beans, University of California and Oregon State University, February 2004 - Reviews principal trends during the past two decades in the national and Pacific Northwest markets for selected berries and vegetables. The authors looked at the sources and types of apparent shifts in U.S. supply and demand for these products, and the apparent effects of import competition on domestic production and prices.
• Hurst’s Berry Farm was established in 1980 in Sheridan, Oregon. The farm itself includes 70 acres of berries. The operation, which specializes in the wholesale distribution of fresh berries, now ships and packs berries from more than 50 of Oregon’s top growers. All berries shipped throughout the United States and the world are packed in clamshells.
• Noncitrus Fruits & Nuts, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.
• North American Bramble Growers Association - A professional association dedicated to the advancement of the raspberry and blackberry industries.
• Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission - This commission promotes raspberries, blackberries and other caneberries.
• Organic Culture of Bramble Fruits, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural America (ATTRA), June 2003 - This publication addresses the production and marketing of organic blackberries and raspberries.
• Planeview Enterprises, October 2005 - This diversified value-added agricultural company near Jefferson, Iowa, has three separate businesses: raspberries, Berkshire hogs and consulting services. Proprietors of the Central Iowa company are Larry and Pam Thomsen.
• PlantFacts, Ohio State University - This Web site provides a full-text search engine of all extension and academic department information from all land-grant universities in the United States. Additionally, there are significant image and video databases, a FAQ database and a glossary.
• Raspberries (Domestic Production & International Trade Info), FASonline, USDA.
• Raspberries and More, University of Illinois Extension - This site features information on raspberry varieties, planting, pruning, pest management and nutritional facts.
•  Red Raspberry Production, Penn State University - This six-page online guide provides information on establishing and marketing red raspberries. It includes three sample budgets for fresh market raspberries.
• Sand Hill Berries of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, is a family small fruits farm specializing in precooled, packaged raspberries that are shipped to supermarkets in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition to red and yellow raspberries, Sand Hill also grows red, black and white currants, gooseberries and blackberries.
• Small Fruit, Tree Fruit & Berry Pathology, Cornell University - This Web site provides links to other berry resources.
• Virus-Free Red Raspberry Propagation Auto-Tutorial Module, Cornell University - This online tutorial provides information on two methods of vegetative propagation: division and tissue culture. These propagation methods, used by commercial nurseries, are done to produce virus-free plants.
• Wood Orchard and Market is a family-owned fruit farm in Door County, Wisconsin. In addition to raspberries, the farm grows strawberries, sweet cherries, apples and sweet corn on 200 acres. The farm sells fruit directly to customers at its own market located on State Hwy. 42.