Washington Blueberry Harvest Pt 2

Washington Blueberry Harvest Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. We told you yesterday about how well the Washington blueberry harvest is going with things drawing to a close in Eastern Washington and still a month to go west of the Cascades.

Washington Blueberry Commission Executive Director, Dr.

Alan Schreiber says yield should be improved ...

SCHREIBER ... "We believe that the overall yield in the state will be up this year compared to previous years. We had some challenges this year in berries sizing up and so we will have kind of a range in size berries."

Schreiber says weather played a big role in the change in production ...

SCHREIBER ... "In 2018, at the beginning of the season, it looked like we were going to have a great year, but due to a long period of very warm and dry conditions we went from a great year to a good year."

Schreiber says growers in Eastern Washington tend to grow more acreage than Western growers, but production is still higher in the west side ...

SCHREIBER ... "Western Washington has about 95% of all the growers and about 60% of the production, so there are probably 25 growers in Eastern Washington and there's over 200 growers in Western Washington."

Earlier estimates for Washington blueberries were calling for 130-million pounds this year. Last year, the state brought in just over 117-million pounds.

About 60% of Washington blueberries are processed while 40% are sold fresh.

Harvest in Eastern Washington should be finished by the end of the month. In Western Washington, harvest is expected to run well into September.

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