Growers Report High Yields but Steep Price Drop
The 2024 Florida blueberry season was marked by two factors — strong yield and late-season price drop. We spoke with growers around the state to put our finger on the pulse of the Florida blueberry industry.
A Great Start With Plenty of Volume
Overall, Florida blueberry farmers had a strong season this year.
“We had a good growing season,” recounts Leonard Park, president of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association. At Frogmore Fresh near Dade City, Park experienced “good chill, good pollination weather, and good harvest weather.”
A particularly chilly winter was a big help for blueberry yields. Depending on the variety, blueberries need between 350 and 400 chill hours, or hours below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. With plenty of chill hours this past winter, yields were very large, with estimates of about 20 million pounds, although it did delay fruit production somewhat.
“I would say everybody’s production was a bit later than usual, but the volume was good so all-in-all it was an awesome season,” says Josh Carlton, co-owner of JLC Farms in Arcadia.
The high yields were particularly welcomed by blueberry growers in the south of the state like Carlton who are recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Ian, which caused massive losses in 2022.
“We recorded 150 mile per hour winds on our farm for hours during the hurricane, so last year was a huge, huge loss,” reflects Carlton.
Overall, growers were positive about the season and it was an improvement over last year, but it wasn’t without its challenges. High yields and delayed fruit production became an issue as the Florida blueberry season reached one of its biggest yearly difficulties, the April price drop.
An Especially Sharp April Price Drop
The Florida blueberry industry has the advantage of arriving to market sooner than other growing regions. Once crops from other regions come to market, particularly those from Georgia and Mexico, the increase in supply leads to a significant price drop. This year, the price drop was especially steep.
“We had fairly good prices until mid-April when the Georgia crop came in heavy and above their forecast, crushing prices,” explains Park.
Increased competition is one reason this year’s price drop was so severe.
“The global market has developed significantly since we have been in the blueberry business,” explains Brittany Lee, who runs Florida Blue Farms in Gainesville and is a current member of the US Highbush Blueberry council. “Every year it seems like we have more and more competition from more countries and growing regions.”
These low prices led to many growers leaving fruit on the bush.
“Prices dropped below the cost to pick and pack, and a good portion of the crop came in later than expected during poor pricing weeks, leading to fruit not being picked,” says Park.
Chilli Thrips Continue to be a Challenge, but Birds Were Conspicuously Absent
While the April price drop was the biggest challenge faced by growers this season, it was far from the only one. Other common issues, like fungal pressure and pests, were also a concern.
“We faced a little bit of fungal pressure,” Carlton says. “We were really wet when we aren’t usually that wet this time of year, so that led to fungal pressure. We also fought the chilli thrips like we’ve never fought them before, especially on our Avanti plants.”
Park agreed that chilli thrips were an issue, and also mentioned the issue of labor costs.
“The biggest challenge has been the escalating cost of picking labor,” he says. “This is as well as the challenge of controlling chilli thrips, which have become the worst pest for blueberry growers in Florida.”
Normally a substantial challenge, birds were conspicuously absent this year, growers reported. This may have been due to them finding sufficient food elsewhere in the state.
“We had almost no bird damage this year,” explains Park. “It’s very unusual for the cedar waxwings to not show up in huge flocks. I heard this may be due to large native fruit crops down south that were not stripped by a hurricane.”
A Look to the Future
While growers definitely faced some struggles this year, overall, it was a great season, and our growers are feeling optimistic about the future.
“Florida’s blueberry industry has a great future,” says Park. “There are new technologies and practices coming into play which will make farming more cost efficient and enhance the growing practice.”
Moving forward, our state’s growers have various plans for the future.
“We definitely need to focus on getting earlier and earlier. The window gets tighter and tighter every year. I think we’re definitely going to have to switch to machine harvest,” reflects Carlton.
Moving to different varieties is also going to be key for the future success of the industry.
“The University of Florida is leading the way in creating dramatic improvements in Blueberry genetics suited to our Florida climate,” explains Park. “Florida growers are beginning to significantly boost production volumes per acre and planting new varieties that will improve the taste and texture of blueberries, driving increases in consumer demand.”
CREDIT
RYAN MILEJCZAK
