State makes strawberry sustainability and research investment

Local strawberries are among the most popular crops in the area and California is sending money to the tri-counties for more research to help growers.

The California Strawberry Commission gave $1 million to Cal Poly to create a sustainability research and education center.

The center will be the first of its kind and dedicated to strawberry farming. The central cost is one of the largest producers of strawberries in the nation.

The center will combine many research areas at Cal Poly, including hydrology, engineering, packaging and marketing.