New York State has a little more than 700 acres of blueberries in production yielding about 2 million pounds of blueberries annually making it the 9th most important blueberry production state in the nation.  Increased consumer interest in dark colored fruit containing high amounts of healthful antioxidants has resulted in many more acres being planted over the past several years. This is despite the soil pH requirement of 4.5 that blueberries, a member of the acid-loving Ericaceae family require.

It takes nearly 8 years for blueberries to reach their mature production, but a well maintained planting can remain economically viable for up to 40 years or more yielding in excess of 10,000 lbs/acre. Ninety-five percent of this production is hand-picked and sold as fresh fruit with the remaining 5% going to value added products.

Highbush blueberries are grown throughout the majority of the state, but in northern NY and the Adirondacks, cultivars that are crosses between the Maine low-bush and northern high-bush blueberries result in a smaller bush that is much more winter hardy. The threat from late spring frosts remains a challenge to blueberry growers throughout the state. Blueberries have a relatively small pest complex making it a favorite berry for organic production.

For more information about blueberry production, visit the Cornell Fruit Resources: Berries.


More Blueberries Content

2018 CCE LOF PGR Orchard Tour

June 29, 2018
8am - 1:30pm; lunch & celebration 2-5pm
Geneva, NY

LOF Summer Fruit Tour 2018

July 12, 2018
All Day

Annual tour featuring cutting edge farms.  Check back for more details & registration options.

LOF Young Fruit Farmer Study Tour 2018

August 2 - August 4, 2018
All Day (see Details for Itinerary)
Gettysburg, PA

Young Fruit Farmer Study Tour in PA, August 2-4

Save these Dates!

August 2-4 - Young Growers Tour - Pennsylvania - Details @ https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=957

August 6 - Hard Cider Tour - Western NY - Details @ https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=962

Please check back for more details.

Sponsor 2018 LOF Events Here!

Farm Employee Compensation Benchmark Survey

By participating in the Farm Employee Compensation Benchmark survey you can find out how your employee compensation compares to benchmark data in your farm industry and across the state. More details and link to the survey at: https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=540&crumb=business|business

Fit Testing Organizations

Details on organizations offering fit testing @ https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=521&crumb=crops|crops|apples|crop*38

2017 Census of Agriculture

Producers who are new to farming or did not receive a Census of Agriculture in 2012 still have time to sign up to receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture report form by visiting www.agcensus.usda.gov and clicking on the ‘Make Sure You Are Counted' button through June. NASS defines a farm as any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year (2017).

For more information about the 2017 Census of Agriculture and to see how census data are used, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call (800) 727-9540.