Wild blueberry bumper crop and good prices

by Emily Leeson

While wild blueberry yields and prices may still fluctuate, Peter Burgess, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, said recently that things are looking very good so far. That’s a change for growers who’ve had several challenging years in a row. 

“We expect a better yield than we have had in several years,” he said. “Not a best-ever crop – but certainly above our five-year average.”

Wild blueberries grow on a two-year cycle, with year one producing fruit buds and year two producing the fruit. Each year, half of a producer’s land is typically managed to produce fruit, while the other half is managed to encourage growth – meaning that a good year can mean a good harvest and good growth toward the next year’s harvest as well. 

Frost damage in Quebec this year is forecasted to result in only 20 to 40 percent of an average wild blueberry crop in that province.

Demand for the fruit in the Atlantic region remains high – partly because of Quebec’s poor crop this year – and Burgess said that he expects initial prices to be at or above last year’s field price of 75 cents per pound.

Peter Van Dyk, who operates Van Dyk’s by Nature in Caledonia, N.S., has similar expectations. “There was a little bit of frost damage to some of Nova Scotia,” he said. “But, overall, it was a really good crop.”

For Rodney Woodington of Woodington Blueberries in Kensington, P.E.I., this year has been somewhat of an education. 

“This is our first year in operation since we have taken over the family farm,” said Woodington. “We have spoken with other farmers who say their year was awful compared to other years, but our field did really well in comparison to last year. The berries were plentiful and large, but they were wet and did not seem to hold up as well as past years.”

Although producers won’t be paid until November, Woodington said he’s heard rumours about the price likely ending up near 80 cents per pound. 

“This is much higher than past years,” he said. 

Woodington said that he expects the abundance of berries this year to fill cold storage capacity and possibly even cause a surplus that will impact prices next year. The industry hasn’t had a real bumper crop since between 2014 and 2016. 

“It seems like a circle,” he said. “The berries will be harder to move next year, causing the prices to fall.”

Donald Arseneault, executive director of Bleuets NB Blueberries, said that despite some frost damage, most New Brunswick growers had a good year. Last year, New Brunswick’s production was much lower than average at 27 million pounds due to frost and drought.

“We expect that this year will see north of 50 million pounds, so that is good news for the industry,” he said. “No doubt, prices fluctuate from year to year due to various factors, but we are happy to see that this year’s prices are way above the past two years. We need to realize that Mother Nature can play a defining role in a grower’s crop, despite all the investments the farmers make in their fields. So, to get a price that reflects the farmers’ investment and an amazing product in the wild blueberry – it’s refreshing.”

As to whether or not the growth this year will result in another good show next year, Arseneault said that only time will tell.