The genesis of the modern strawberry is perhaps the greatest long-distance plant breeding project of all time. One variety was found in colonial Virginia. Another was found in South America about a century later, and they were accidentally bred together in Europe.
Today, strawberries are still important in the part of Virginia that gave birth to the modern fruit. In 2015, strawberry sales generated just under $1 million in cash receipts for the 16 growers in Virginia Beach, according to Roy Flanagan III, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in the city. Growers who collaborated with a VSU berry project generated a total of $106,653 sales of different berries in different markets. A total of 55 seasonal jobs was created in different communities where this project was implemented.
