Avoiding Water Stress During the Fruit Development Period

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<strong>Highlights and risk management strategies from the 2016 Florida Agriculture Financial Management Conference</strong>

<strong>Last year’s chill hours and tracking temperatures for 2016-17 winter </strong>

WHEN I THINK of the recent challenges growers have faced, I’m reminded of a quote, which I’m sure many of you have heard: “The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.” Made memorable by Will Rogers, this quote rings true for today’s growers as much as it did in his era (if not more).

U.S. CONSUMERS prefer Florida blueberries above all others, and a new online survey conducted by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education (PIE) in Agriculture and Natural Resources proves it. The study, funded by a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, surveyed consumers in 31 U.S. states about their preference for buying blueberries in the grocery store. The survey showed that consumers preferred blueberries from Florida over berries from any other top 10 blueberry-producing state. However, the valuable information from the survey doesn’t end there. <!--more-->

<strong>Industry can generate more consumer demand for blueberries through agritourism and health benefit awareness, UF report states</strong>

<strong>Where are we now with blueberry crop insurance and the Florida blueberry market?</strong>

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One of the great parts of working in Florida agriculture is that every year we get to start fresh. If we learn from past successes or mistakes, then we have another opportunity to do a better job in a new season. But putting last season behind us will not be easy for some. While those fortunate few who had a good season or those who had crop or whole farm revenue insurance will be okay, many other farms are strained‑financially.

This edition of the Blueberry News will publish as harvest time is really getting kicked into high gear. While the last few months of 2016 did not give our crops as many chill hours as we’ve seen in years past, it was not a complete lack of chill accumulation. That being said, we know all too well that Mother Nature is not always kind to everyone. Our hearts go out to our brother growers in Georgia as they grapple with the  effects of the recent inclement weather. The freeze events to the north that occurred in March may open up opportunities for a longer harvest season for Florida growers. Although it is nearly impossible to predict the volume, most of the Florida fields should have a pretty good harvest.
Remembering last year’s challenges (and, honestly, how can we forget?), here are a few important reminders for harvest time that will hopefully help increase efficiency, volume, and have a positive impact on the price.

Making Headway on Studies of Sparkleberry-Grafted Blueberry Plant Varieties

By the time you hold this in your hands, by God’s grace our harvest will be well underway. On our family blueberry farm in Medulla, Kirkland Farms, we experienced more chill hours in the latter part of 2016 than we did in 2015. This season, we measured 80 chill hours, compared to the season before, which counted for a mere two. There’s no question, when you look at the historical data, our cultivars perform better when there is at least something close to 100 hours of chill.