Northwest Blueberries Booming
November 1, 2007 There’s been extraordinary growth in blueberry planting around the world in the past decade, especially in North America. One such area that has been part of the surge is a region long known for berries, the northwestern U.S. In fact, in Oregon alone, the blueberry industry has grown from fewer than 20 million pounds of blueberries harvested in the late 1990s to pushing 40 million this year, according to the Oregon Blueberry Commission.
But even those numbers don’t tell the whole story, says the owner of Fall Creek Farm and Nursery, Dave Brazelton, because they don’t account for all the new planting of the past few years that’s not yet bearing fruit. When those new plantings do come on-line, he says, look out. “We have the highest yields per acre of anywhere in the world (an estimated 9,000 pounds), and a great reputation for quality,� says Brazelton. “It’s berry country here.�
In the past, blueberries were largely raised by smaller growers, who would farm 10 acres or less. Though many of those farms still exist, there are not too many more popping up, says Brazelton. While as recently as a decade ago, the average planting was about 10 acres, today that figure is closer to 50 acres, he says. There are three types of growers who are accounting for those new plantings, says Brazelton: existing larger growers, processors, and new growers.
Rich Get Richer
Buoyed by their success of the past decade, the larger growers keep getting larger, says Brazelton. That’s perfectly understandable when you consider that blueberries have been on quite a hot streak with record crops every year for the past seven years, but with no accompanying decline in prices, as you see with most crops. “We’re going to have a record crop in Oregon this year, and record fresh and processing prices,� he says. “You don’t see that very often.�
In fact, the great demand has accounted for the second type of grower to get in the game — the processors. Even though some producers of muffins, pancake mixes, etc. will stoop to ersatz blueberries such as dyed apple pieces, enough are committed to the real thing that they have to grow their own.
Finally, there are the growers of other fruit who are just getting into blueberries. These can be growers of other berries, apples, and cherries. Growers of the latter crops, especially, have benefitted from the newly developed varieties that will thrive in the hotter, more arid climate east of the Cascade Mountains. Bob Gabriel, the owner of Oregon Blueberry Farms and Nursery, says he has seen a lot of these cherry growers get into the game because they’ve been encouraged to do so by their customers. “Many of the cherry guys sell to the Japanese, who are high users of blueberries,� says Gabriel. “The Japanese customers are crazy about blueberries as well as cherries, and they started asking for blueberries.�
Health Kick
All the demand for blueberries has come, as anyone who reads newspapers or surfs the Web can tell you, from the tremendous publicity generated from studies on blueberries’ health benefits. (See “The Brain Berry.�) “That has really exploded,� says Gabriel.
“Now with the Baby Boomers starting to retire, those folks are going to drive this thing even faster.�
And the Northwest, with its fine climate and image for healthy foods — not to mention the caliber of the growers — is set to really benefit from any increase in demand, says Brazelton. Even if, for some reason, the good times end, he thinks the region will weather the storm. “We have always felt growers in Oregon and Washington have been well-positioned for tougher times,� he says, “because the yields are so high.�
Gabriel agrees, though he doesn’t see demand lightening any time soon. Besides the aging population, people’s attitudes about eating and health have simply changed. All you have to do is look at all the apples consumed at McDonald’s. “I think the demand’s going to grow for a while, quite a while,� he says. “And this is the premier place to grow them — the Cadillac spot.�
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