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 Berry website.


More Blueberries Content

20 Minute Ag Manager Webinars: Crop Insurance for Diverse Farms

August 14, 2018
12-12:30 PM

20 minute lunchtime webinars will be held on Tuesdays this summer covering farm business management topics.

20 Minute Ag Manager Webinars: Flood Insurance and Other Disaster Programs

August 21, 2018
12-12:30 PM

20 minute lunchtime webinars will be held on Tuesdays this summer covering farm business management topics.

Fresh Market Vegetable Grading & Packing Workshop

August 21, 2018
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Deposit, NY

Are you interested in farm to school or selling to institutional markets? Maybe you'd like to know more about grading and packing your fresh market produce right in the field? CCE Broome County, in partnership with the CCE Cornell Vegetable Program and the Cornell Baskets to Pallets program, is offering a hands-on, on-farm experience designed to prepare farms in NY, both beginning and experienced, to enter new markets.

Check out the Updated Labeled Insecticides for SWD

Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide Compiled by Greg Loeb, Laura McDermott, Peter Jentsch & Juliet Carroll, Cornell University. Updated regularly. Check it out at this link!

New Resources from CCE ENYCHP!

We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year! We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the 20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series. 
The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.

Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.

Text alerts are easy to access. Just click on the link below and fill out a very short registration form. It takes just seconds to do - access to important information has never been so easy!!

Confused by the WPS (Worker Protection Standard)?

Please take note: WPS pertains to all farms-organic and conventional!  To be sure that you are complying with these regulations, please view the EPA link below:
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/comparison-chart-wps.pdf