In Oregon alone, officials expect the lack of pickers will cause the loss of about 30 percent, or $8 million worth, of the strawberry crop.

The situation is complicated by an early-ripening strawberry crop that is expected to total 80 million pounds on 7,500 acres.

Cool weather slowed the ripening of the strawberry crop, which normally is ready for harvest by June 1.

The 1987 strawberry crop ripened early, and 20 percent of it was left in the fields because of a shortage of workers.

Strawberry Road stretches through much of the city near where the old strawberry crops grew.

Increasingly, the value of the strawberry crop becomes evident.

"The bottom line is that we lost our entire strawberry crop."

This is the perfect time to start planning so that your strawberry crop next year is the best ever.

Setbacks like the lost strawberry crop in the Pacific Northwest are not inevitable.

If we didn't let him get back to bed, some poor farmer's strawberry crop might come up sour next year.