The hero of the strawberry field.

The strawberry fields need to be packed full of sweet fruit in time for the season. To ensure the seasonal business runs smoothly, Harald Funck relies on his new Unimog U 527 with an Agrio Tiger special body unit.

35 fields, 700,000 square metres of land and all within a radius of almost 200 kilometres – that is the realm of Harald Funck, the strawberry grower from Hirschfeld near Zwickau. The business of pick-your-own strawberries or direct sales through the charming kiosks made to look like strawberries is only as good as the timing before and after. Because that is the special feature of the strawberry business: there are only two months in which the carefully tended fresh produce is on sale. "In May and June everything has to run like clockwork, otherwise many months of hard work would have been for nothing," says the expert.

Speaking of hard work: To cover the long distances, to carry out careful crop protection and to irrigate his delicate plants, Harald Funck relies on a new Unimog U 527. He had it fitted with an Agrio Tiger crop protection unit by agricultural experts Sauerbier & Stiller. In addition to a 4,000-litre tank, which the farmer usually fills at a hydrant, the core component of the unit is the 18-metre boom, which distributes water and crop protection agents across his fields.

The most important thing about the new Unimog is the track width specially adapted for the strawberry crops. "That was the most important requirement for the new vehicle," explains Harald Funck, "because my fields are laid out exactly to the row spacing." In addition, the self-confessed Unimog fan opted for an automated transmission and the automatic tire inflation system when he ordered the successor to his previous Unimog, a U 500 from 2004. The proven predecessor, by the way, is fitted with the same bodywork technology as the "new green" — and is still in use.

"The real trick is the automatic tire inflation system," enthuses Harald Funck. "On average I drive two thirds of my 30,000 annual kilometres on asphalt when I'm travelling between my fields. And it's a huge advantage to be able to switch the tire pressure quickly and easily from field work to road performance." He also particularly values the relaxed driving experience that he has only experienced in the Unimog. "Even when I have very long days because I have to treat many fields with crop protection products due to the weather, the ride in the Unimog U 527 never becomes an ordeal," says the farmer.

Anyone who occasionally buys a small basket of fresh strawberries in June and July can hardly imagine what the everyday life of a strawberry farmer looks like. It consists of around ten months of meticulous fieldwork. Fungicides and herbicides are indispensable for tasty, juicy strawberries. The substances must be mixed precisely and matched to soil quality and weather conditions. To do this, Harald Funck draws about 200,000 litres of water a year from hydrants, which are then mixed with the appropriate substances under strict supervision by the state agricultural authority.

During the main season from June to August, the fieldwork must be completed. Spraying must of course stop shortly before the strawberries are picked for consumption. In June, food safety inspectors come to the fields more frequently to take samples. "If residues of plant protection products were found, I would not be given authorisation to sell," explains Harald Funck.

The native Bavarian has now been in Hirschfeld for 20 years and learned the trade in the family business near Ingolstadt from the ground up. The pick-your-own system also became second nature to him in his parents' business: "For me this pick-your-own business model has repeatedly proven successful over the years; it works better for me than supplying the trade," he concludes. "But many also buy the ready-picked baskets. After all, that's more convenient than going strawberry hunting yourself."

To stock roughly half of the 35 fields with "ready-picked" produce, just under a dozen strawberry pickers now help out on the farm during the harvest season and ensure a constant fresh supply of strawberries. In addition to the fruit itself, homemade jam, strawberry liqueur and nectar have also become bestsellers at the stalls. To keep sales running smoothly, Harald Funck's wife is now fully occupied as well. The stalls need to be supplied with cash registers, change and, of course, fresh produce — and that's best done when each stall is on the daily route list.