A Ventura Grower Will Cut 572 Berry Jobs. No Shelf Price Moved.

On Nov. 5, the Los Angeles Times reported that SoCal Berry Growers plans to close six farms in Oxnard and Ventura and lay off 572 workers, including 459 harvesters. A letter to Oxnard, dated Oct. 31, put the closures between Jan. 11 and Jan. 25. The company and Driscoll's, which markets berries grown by contract farmers, did not comment.

California grows close to 90% of U.S. strawberries, the Times said, citing a 2025 state commission report. Ventura County's 2025 crop report listed strawberries as its leading commodity, with about $808 million of wholesale revenue and about $815 million of production costs. That countywide loss is not this one company's profit figure.

Workers voted in July to join the United Farm Workers. The company challenged the petition, and the state labor board rejected its misconduct claims. A union official alleged the shutdown avoids bargaining. That claim has not been decided in court. The closures are a workforce and local-supply event for one grower. No grocery chain announced a new strawberry price.

Could these Ventura closures raise the strawberry price you pay? No shelf-price change was announced. The Nov. 5 report is a January closure and layoff plan for one grower, not a new national berry price.