CALIFORNIA'S BERRY LUCRATIVE CROP GROWERS WORK TO IMPROVE QUALITY.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

OXNARD - A fifth-generation farmer, John T. Dullam faces the same kind of day-to-day uncertainties as his ancestors over weather, production costs and market conditions.

But unlike the farming Dullams before him, John T. can rely on scientific and technological advances - techniques he helped create - in bringing his strawberry crop to harvest.

``When we breed strawberries, No. 1 we are looking for flavor,'' he said. ``No. 2 is appearance, color and size. We breed for disease resistance, to get away from as many chemicals as possible. Then there is the ability to ship across the world. To make all these factors come together is nearly a miracle.''

Dullam's grandfather, John E. Dullam, emigrated to California from England in 1901, continuing the family tradition of farming.

He leased pasture land from the Hancock family near the La Brea Tar Pits - he even lost a horse in the goo - before buying a farm near what is now Sepulveda and National boulevards in West Los Angeles, where he grew spinach for the Sunny Sally company.

After World War II, the Dullams moved to Oxnard, where the family specializes in nursery plants and strawberries, which John T. calls ``the happy crop.''

``There is a pride in growing food, especially strawberries,'' he said. ``They make people smile.''

The West Los Angeles land was sold for a housing development after World War II, and part of the family's Ventura County land is now the site of a youth detention facility.

A few acres of Dullam land near the Oxnard Airport is used for greenhouses to grow young vegetable plants for other farmers, and John Dullam leases about 300 acres in Oxnard where he grows strawberries, while he and his wife live nearby at the harbor.

Dullam and his wife, Linda, are in the peak of the harvest, and are both looking forward to one of the highlights of the year - the California Strawberry Festival, scheduled for May 20-21 in Oxnard.

Dullam is a member of the California Strawberry Commission and works with the University of California to help California stay on the cutting edge of the science of creating ever healthier and tastier strawberry varieties of a size his grandparents couldn't imagine.

California's coastal climate also makes a happy place for strawberries themselves, which grow wild in some areas.

Dan Legard, director of research for the California Strawberry Commission, said the local climate is perfect for this bright red fruit.

``The system for producing strawberries in California is second to none in the world,'' he said. ``We produce 88 percent of the strawberries grown in the United States on only about 33,000 or 34,000 acres a year. The annual California strawberry crop is worth $1.3 billion.''

Strawberries are Ventura County's biggest crop, valued at more than $300 million a year, and growers are on track for another big season.

As of April 22, Ventura County growers had shipped 24.12 million trays of strawberries, compared with 24.08 million at the same time the year before. A tray of strawberries weighs about 10 pounds.

Legard said it is the work of farmers like Dullam and the University of California researchers that helps keep the California crop as important as it is.

``The growers have done an excellent job working with the university.

That's why you see the high yields and quality, because of decades of research. That's why it's a $1.3 billion crop.''

Oleg Daugovish, farm adviser with the University of California Cooperative Extension, said John T. Dullam was a pioneer in collaborating with the university to find new ways of improving strawberry production.

``He's one of those growers with a deep understanding of the past, who is always looking ahead'' Daugovish said.

A recent Workforce Investment Board study of the future of Agriculture in Ventura County noted that rising land values have caused a shift from land-intensive crops such as lima beans to labor-intensive crops such as strawberries. The rising land values will continue to put pressure on landowners to convert their property from farming to commercial and residential development, the study found.

Increased costs, for such things as fuel, are making strawberries less profitable than they used to be for the growers, Dullam acknowledged.

But for now strawberries are really something to celebrate in Ventura County.

This year late rains delayed the strawberry harvest, particularly in Northern California, but the weather now looks good as the annual Strawberry Festival approaches.

``I'm 66 years old. It's been a wonderful life,'' Dullam said of the family occupation. ``It gives you the freedom to to be your own boss. But it's a challenge. Every year you are living by your wits.''

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3 photos, box

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(1 -- color) John T. Dullam, a strawberry grower in Oxnard, works with the University of California to help develop better varieties of the fruit.

(2 -- color in Simi edition only) California grows nearly 90 percent of U.S. strawberries.

(3 -- ran in Valley edition only) John T. Dullam is a fifth-generation farmer who grows strawberries in Oxnard and helps develop better varieties of the fruit.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News

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