Bringing European Berry Innovation Back Home

First-Hand Look at Europe’s Latest Soft Fruit Solutions

On an early November morning in ‘Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, a contingent of more than 60 North American berry growers and industry suppliers boarded a tour bus and hit the road on a three-day trip across Northern Europe. Members of the A.M.A. team were among the group, ready to learn about the latest innovations in soft fruit cultivation and bring solutions back to North American customers. 

The tour-de-force, organized by The North American Strawberry Growers’ Association, took place on November 6 – 9, 2018 and focused on strawberries and other small fruit production and marketing activities across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Twelve stops. Three days. Three countries. 

“Farm after farm, we got a first-hand taste of new approaches to soft fruit cultivation that are increasing efficiency and labour, improving density and quality of berries and, of course, driving better bottom lines for growers,” says Connie Bradt-Monsma, managing director of A.M.A. Horticulture Inc, who was on the tour. “Their entire berry industry – from supplier to propagator to grower – is working together to streamline and standardize processes to ultimately produce better fruit for better value.”

What new solutions did A.M.A. learn about? We wrote all about it in the January 2018 issue of The Grower.

Click to read: Bringing Berry Innovation Back to Canada

We’d like to thank NASGA and the European hosts for organizing this educational tour and for helping to drive innovative approaches to berry growing in North America. We also thank The Grower for sharing our story!