06/19/08 Blueberry Time

It's Blueberry Time. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. The tiny little berry that is packed with good things has been getting a lot of good press lately. The blueberry is loaded with vitamin C and packed with antioxidants. And the best thing, it's picking time according to Alan Schreiber with the Washington Blueberry Commission. SCHREIBER: I was told that the first blueberries in Washington were going to be picked in the Tri-Cities area this Friday. The first berries on the west side were probably going to be picked around the 4th of July but the full swing will really be taking off probably a little bit towards the latter part of July. The crop is running about 2 weeks behind due to the unseasonably cool spring that has affected most of the states crops. But even with the late start Schreiber thinks this will be a good crop. SCHREIBER: We had 28-million pounds last year and we think it's going to be in the mid-30's this year. Oregon has long been the northwest leader in producing blueberries but that may be changing. SCHREIBER: I think the early projections out of Oregon was 49-million so we're growing at a faster rate than them but we're not as big as them but we're still growing. The increase in numbers this year is attributed to an increase in acreage over last year as many producers are adding significantly more blueberry acres. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.