Yarborough quoted in Press Herald article on Maine blueberry industry
The Portland Press Herald spoke with David Yarborough, a wild blueberry specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for the article, “Tough times for blueberry growers reflect global struggles.” Maine is the only state with a commercial wild blueberry crop, and for generations Maine berries have dominated the frozen market, the article states. But in recent years, massive wild blueberry harvests in Canada and a booming market for frozen cultivated blueberries eroded Maine’s prominence, the Press Herald reported. Less than 20 years ago, Maine and Canada each produced about 75 million pounds. In 2017, Canada produced 206.4 million pounds, more than three times Maine’s yield, according to UMaine records. In the same year, farmers from the U.S. and Canada harvested 259 million pounds of cultivated berries to freeze. Yarborough, who has studied wild blueberries for 40 years, agrees things look grim for the industry right now, but context is important. Maine’s wild blueberry industry has persisted despite repeated downturns and spells of bad weather. Even with the average price so low, some farmers are still getting a good return from their fields, and the surplus from a few years ago has been depleted, Yarborough said. “Agriculture is up and down, when you are farming for the long term,” he said. “There are still a lot of fields out there that are in good shape, there may be opportunities. We will come back out of it, with the industry looking different.” The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel and The Times Record also published the Press Herald report.