University of Arkansas film focuses on the Arkansas, national strawberry industry

University of Arkansas journalism faculty members Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter have produced a film on strawberry production in the U.S. and a locally-led effort to increase sustainability of production and improve the quality of the product.

Titled “The Favored Strawberry,” the one-hour documentary was filmed at big and small farms in eight states, including Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland and California. Family-owned Dickey Farms in Springdale was featured in “The Favored Strawberry,” as was Harps Foods Stores and the Fayetteville Farmers Market.

The film was funded by the UA System Division of the Agriculture Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability (CARS). It premiered Tuesday (May 2), with a screening at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville.

Foley and Curt Rom, horticulture professor and associate dean for international education at the UA graduate school, spoke on the making of the film and strawberry agriculture during a question-and-answer session that followed the screening. Rom is also program director and project leader of the National Strawberry Sustainability Initiative.

Funded with $4 million in grants from the Walmart Foundation, the initiative was founded at CARS in 2013, with a stated mission to “move sustainable production forward through innovation, application of new technology, demonstration, outreach/extension and education, ultimately resulting in increased sustainable production and supply of strawberries to American consumers.”

Strawberry production of 3.1 billion pounds generated $2.2 billion in 2015, according USDA data. Production showed a bump from the previous year, while value declined slightly.

Meanwhile, strawberry consumption in the U.S. is increasing 3% to 5% every year, Foley said. “It’s almost as if we cannot get enough strawberries.”

Since 2013, the strawberry sustainability initiative executed two project phases that included research and outreach projects in areas throughout the country, aimed toward reducing chemical inputs, conserving water, reducing waste, improving soil quality and food safety, and expanding the strawberry season in some regions. Strawberries are now grown year-round in California, accounting for 88% of production.

Rom said he hopes the efforts will result in better-quality products on grocery shelves, pointing to a number of factors that affect the flavor of strawberries, including size. Strawberries have been bred to be bigger in recent years, and “it compromised the flavor over the last three decades,” Rom said. Now, the industry is trending toward smaller berries, he said.

The film was shot over two years, Foley said. He and Foley have been making documentary films together since 1976 and have won multiple Mid-America Emmy Awards.

“The Favored Strawberry” was narrated by Academy Award winner Ray McKinnon. Fellow UA faculty members Hayot Tuychiev and Tom Hapgood served as director of photography and art director, respectively, for the film. UA music Prof. James Greeson wrote an original musical score for the film.

It will air June 12 at 9 p.m. and June 18 at 11 p.m. on AETN.