SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — Jackie Wagner walks his strawberry fields looking for trouble - berries showing spots of fungus that threaten his crop and livelihood at Wagner Berry Farm.
"I'm not getting fond of the everbears," Wagner said.
The strawberry farmer points out the early signs of disease on his berries. "These don't show as much of the damage but there's the beginning of the disease," he said.
During dry times, Wagner picks strawberries to keep fungus from spreading. But this season's persistent rainfall is creating a double financial problem: it keeps families away from his you-pick farm and accelerates fungal growth.
"There have been years we didn't generate anything but enough money to put them back in, except for the one year we lost everything," Wagner said.
The economics of strawberry farming are challenging even in good years. "If you can have one good year, one average year, and a bad year, you'll make it in strawberries," Wagner said. "You just hope you don't have two bad ones in a row, and that's strawberries."
Wagner says this is their second consecutive year with issues. Despite the challenges, he remains committed to his mission of teaching children where food comes from and feeding his community.
"If you're gonna do something do it right or don't do it at all, so you'll have to excuse me," Wagner said.
Even on rainy days, Wagner maintains his passion. "It's raining. I just came out of the field and I have beautiful strawberries. I'm not doing nothing with but that's strawberry season," he said.
He's not ready to give up on his retirement dream just yet.
"So this is a problem that will get solved like it always does," Wagner said.
Instead of stressing over sensitive strawberries, Wagner's wife Martha has a practical approach to salvaging his crop. "Cut off the bad stuff and make jams and popsicles with them," she said.
Wagner says it's still healthy to eat berries showing small fungal spots. While fungicides can sometimes help control the problem, they're used only as a last resort.
Despite the rain and fungus challenges, there's good news for consumers: the Wagners say they're keeping their prices the same this season.
This story was reported by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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