If looking to pick berries in Manitoba, those dreams may be squashed or grown, depending on what looks sweet to you.

Across Manitoba, strawberry fields are yielding fewer berries than usual due to extremely dry conditions as the season closes. Many fields are picked out quickly.

Boonstra Farms near Stonewall are frequently posting they are being picked out, and Cormier's Berry Patch in La Salle says their strawberry season is coming to a close. The Little Strawberry Farm near Carmen is working through the end of their season.

"Sadly, we are getting closer to the end of the season, berries are getting smaller and picking is slower, BUT the berries sure taste yummy," Cormier's posts on Facebook.

Phillip Ronald, co-owner of Riverbend Orchards in Portage la Prairie with his wife Karen, says their fields are boasting berries of other varieties. This year, the conditions hitting other farms were not an issue for Ronald as their berries were not affected by the drought.

"There has been a lot of interest in local fruit in Manitoba and there are not too many orchards. The demand always outstrips the supply," Ronald says. "We know the flavour and the quality of our fruits that are locally produced is so much better than what has travelled in a reefer truck for hours from some distant place... when you can taste something that's real and fresh it's quite a breakthrough." 

The co-owner says 12 years ago when they started at the orchard saskatoon berries were the only berries they had, which is still popular at the farm. As the years went on, they expanded berry types like tart cherries, gooseberries, and a new crop called honeyberries.

"We have noticed already people coming to us and saying 'we missed out on the strawberries but we are sure glad we could get some saskatoons."

That craving for local fruit has only increased in the past summers. Ronald says they have noticed an uptick in u-pick.

"I think it comes down to this whole idea of food sovereignty. People want to do something that helps themselves and if that means going out and gathering their own fruit they are really excited to do that."

For those with a penchant to pick, Ronald says to prepare for the heatwave and stay hydrated.