Challenges and Opportunities Part of Mix for Florida Blueberry Industry

By Frank Giles|October 4, 2021

Compiling information for Florida Grower^® magazine’s annual Blueberry Report was a little different in 2021 than in years past. For this installment, we surveyed the state’s growers, and as you might guess, trade issues were high on their agenda. So, we decided to dedicate coverage to trade issues because it is impacting the sustainability of the industry.

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There are growers in the state that are no longer planting. We asked them why and to rank reasons in order of importance. The longer the bar, the most important. Not surprisingly, foreign competition came in at No. 1. Early starts in Georgia or late starts in Florida have made domestic competition an issue as well.
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Despite challenges, the good news is the majority of growers surveyed are maintaining or growing their production. New, more productive varieties and technology adaption are reasons for hope.
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While it is encouraging to see more than 60% of growers surveyed are actively planting, the percentage that are not is concerning. That’s because growers that are not planting are eventually heading toward unsustainable production.
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For those describing their planting status, we asked growers to check all that apply, so some could be engaged in all three. Notably fewer are planting new acreage.
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These were the top vote getters in the survey. Others made the list, but these stood out with the most votes.
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More and more growers see mechanical harvesting as a pathway toward a more sustainable future.
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Kyle Hill of Southern Hill Farms runs a custom harvest business, and he reports his operation harvested 415 acres/1.3 million pounds of berries in the state last season.
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Irrigation management technologies are clearly of interest to the state’s blueberry growers.

While new trade agreements like USMCA and last year’s unsuccessful Section 201 investigation have not gone in Florida blueberry growers’ favor, the industry is resilient.

You will see that in some of the survey results (see in slideshow), and you will learn that industry organizations are mobilizing to advocate for fair trade and also grow blueberry consumption.

The good news is this past season was a relatively good one. Hopefully that parlays into another successful season in 2022.

Scroll through the slideshow above take a look at some blueberry industry survey results as they pertain to trade, technology, planting trends, and more.

What Growers are Saying

Florida Grower asked growers to comment on the state of the industry. Here are a couple of comments we received.

“Stop Mexico or any foreign country from bringing in blueberries during our time of harvest. If this doesn’t stop, we will be out of business.”

“Market pricing pressure from cheap labor imports from Mexico during our market window is destroying the ability for smaller farms in Florida to stay profitable.”