Bachan Shinta started her strawberry
farm in the Santa Clara Valley in the 1920s,
later rebuilding it after the Japanese-American internment.
Pronounced BAA-chan, an endearment
for grandmother in Japanese.
Shinta Kawahara Family Farms
596 San Andreas Road, Watsonville, CA 95076
info@skberries.com
(831) 713 - 7230
Shinta Kawahara Family Farms, LLC 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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A strawberry is not just a strawberry. In fact there are many different types of strawberries!
Farmers select different strawberry varieties and cultivars for various characteristics including taste, size, shape, aroma, yield, fruiting season, and resistance to physical stress on the plant and fruit.
Currently we grow the Albion variety of strawberries, a cultivar developed by Doug Shaw and Kirk Larson at UC Davis.
After years of testing different strawberry cultivars on our farm and receiving great feedback from friends, family, and fellow strawberry lovers, we’re proud to grow Albion berries. Known for their vivid red color and perfect balance of sweet and bright flavors, Albion strawberries deliver a timeless, farm-fresh flavor.
About Albion
About Our Farm
About Us
Nestled in the heart of Watsonville, California, our small, family-run strawberry farm has been growing premium strawberries for four generations. We proudly offer two labels:
Monterrey Bay Farms: Our CCOF Certified Organic strawberries, grown with sustainable practices and a
deep respect for the land.
Kuni Bea Farms: Our classic, conventionally grown strawberries grown using trusted methods passed down through generations.
Our farm in Watsonville overlooks the Monterey Bay which provides us with the perfect coastal growing conditions for growing excellent strawberries.
In addition to the love, joy and devotion we put into farming, we believe that our focus on soil health and providing the plans with thoughtful and high-quality inputs has been key to our ability to harvest the finest strawberries possible.
Our Farming Practices
Our History
As she considered retirement in 1960, her son, Kuni Shinta, and his wife, Bea Kawahara, helped grow the business.
They founded the Shinta Kawahara Company in 1965, and in 1973, moved their strawberry farm to Watsonville, where agricultural land was more readily available.
Shinta Kawahara Strawberry Farm in 1920.
Shinta Kawahara Family Farms
596 San Andreas Road, Watsonville, CA 95076
info@skberries.com
(831) 713 - 7230
Shinta Kawahara Family Farms, LLC. 2025 All Rights Reserved.
Sign up for our Newsletter!
Today, Kuni and Bea’s daughter, Gwen and her husband, Rod Koda, operate the business as small independent farmers, working every day to grow and deliver the most delicious, highest quality strawberries possible!
Left to right: Farmer Rod, Farmer Gwen,
Farmer Kuni, and Farmer Bea.
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