By Ken Pastusyhn

For the 14th consecutive year, Raymont Berries of Cottam has proudly served as the official supplier of local strawberries to the LaSalle Strawberry Festival.

“I feel like I have it down pat,” says Brad Raymont, 54, co-owner of Raymont Berries, when asked about the logistics of keeping the festival stocked with fresh, local berries. Brad is a fourth-generation farmer—his family has tended these same fields since 1897, when his great-grandfather and grandfather first planted strawberries and raspberries on the property.

Brad learned the trade from his father, fondly recalling how he would finish high school in June just in time to help with the harvest.

“My parents actually supplied the first festival back in 1988,” Brad remembers. “Back then, we only had strawberries for three or four weeks.”

Because of the short local season, the festival started importing berries from California the following year. 

“It could have been the end of the season, the beginning of the season, or no season at all,” Brad explains, referring to the unpredictability of Mother Nature. The imported berries provided consistency, as they could always be ordered and delivered by refrigerated truck.

For 25 years, the festival’s biggest complaint was the lack of local strawberries. That began to change when farmers like Brad adopted new varieties and growing methods, extending the local strawberry season from just a few weeks to five or six months—stretching from May to November.

Brad joined the North American Strawberry Growers Association and began visiting farms across the continent to learn best practices. 

California, the strawberry capital of North America, is home to the San Andreas variety—nicknamed “Steady Eddie” for its reliable production through frosty months (as long as temperatures stay above 35°F) and hot summers alike. Brad plants San Andreas in both April and July.

Another variety, Malwina (pronounced Mal-wee-na), hails from Germany and is called the “Season Extender.” Brad plants Malwina in June, ensuring a steady supply of strawberries into the late summer.

“As a rule, we usually have a pretty nice harvesting season,” Brad says, “but it’s all weather dependent.”

Weather presents plenty of challenges. Excessive irrigation and frost can damage crops. To protect against frost, Brad covers the plants with special blankets made of woven cotton designed to allow airflow. San Andreas strawberries thrive when grown on raised beds—“I tuck ‘em in, I sleep better, and I don’t have to worry about it,” Brad says with a smile.

Heavy rain poses another threat, as it can ruin ripe berries. To counter this, Brad constructed tunnels with convertible rooftops to shelter April plantings—especially important since the field sits on a natural fault line.

The Raymont family cultivates seven strawberry fields, totalling roughly the size of 10 football fields. This year alone, they planted over 60,000 strawberry plants—all by hand.

Labour is an ongoing challenge. Thanks to the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), eight workers from Jamaica join the Raymont team from May through November, living and working on the farm alongside a handful of local helpers. “Without our migrant workers, we probably wouldn’t farm,” Brad says, adding that the program benefits everyone involved.

The team starts harvesting at six in the morning the day before the festival. For the event, they prepare 300 flats—about 1,800 quarts, weighing roughly a ton. If picking conditions are good, each worker can pick a flat in 20 minutes to an hour. By 4 p.m., the berries are loaded into a trailer, ready for delivery.

At 5:30 p.m., Brad personally delivers the strawberries to the festival, ensuring they arrive by 6 p.m. so volunteers can start cleaning them the night before festivities begin.

“One day to deliver and one year of planning,” Brad notes.

Whether the festival gets San Andreas or Malwina berries depends on the weather at harvest time. Last year, Malwina strawberries were supplied. Usually, the San Andreas variety is delivered.

By planting at three different times during the season and adapting to current weather conditions, Raymont Berries can guarantee a steady supply of fresh, flavorful strawberries—far superior to imports from California. During the festival, the berries are kept in refrigerated coolers to preserve their freshness.

“I couldn’t appreciate more what the festival staff does to promote local strawberries,” Brad says. “They’ve been great to work with since the start.”

Strawberry festival weekend has become a family affair for the Raymonts. Brad’s wife, Terri, co-owner of Raymont Berries, drives the white pickup truck in the parade with festival mascot Captain Strawberry riding in back. Their son, daughter, and friends follow close behind, handing out strawberries to parade spectators.

Throughout the weekend, the Raymonts also distribute starter strawberry plants at the festival’s planting booth so children can grow their own at home. Brad’s sons have even competed in the festival’s strawberry-eating contests.

And the family’s favorite strawberry dessert? “For all of us, it’s strawberries and vanilla ice cream,” Brad says. “I grew up on that.”

This year’s LaSalle Strawberry Festival takes place from June 11 to 14 at the Vollmer Complex, 2121 Laurier Parkway.