Jacqueline Penaloza

Sierra Cascade Nursery

Sierra-Cascade Nursery was founded as "Susanville Nursery" in 1977 by Joe Jertberg and his oldest son, Randy. Joe began growing strawberries in Ontario, California when he was a teenager, around 1935. Joe saved money, while serving in the Navy during WWII, and by the conclusion of the war was able to buy enough land to grow berries commercially. In total, Joe spent 58 years growing strawberries, and was widely recognized as an industry leader in Southern California.In 1994 Susanville Nursery incorporated and changed its name to Sierra-Cascade Nursery Inc. (SCN). The new name more accurately described the company, which had grown considerably and spread to multiple ranches. SCN is now comprised of the High Elevation ranches: Bonanza and Merrill in Southern Oregon, Susanville, Tulelake and Butte Valley in Northern California, and the Low Elevation ranches: Manteca, Ballico, Delhi, Winton and Livingston, which are all located along the east side of California's San Joaquin Valley. Today, the company grows 1,142 acres of berry nursery stock, likely making it the largest berry nursery in the world.