14 Apr 2008 |
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| California Blueberries Continue to Rise in Visibility and Popularity by Brian Gaylord Ten years ago, California blueberry production barely registered on the radar screen. Today, the state is the fifth-largest highbush blueberry producer in the United States behind only Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. Highbush blueberries are the type grown in California and 37 other states, and they are distinguished from the lowbush blueberry that is used for processing and is grown in places such as Maine and eastern Canada. Helping to grow the deal in various ways is the three-year-old California Blueberry Association, which consists of grower members and support trade members. The association does not have a crop assessment but does have a membership fee that scales upward depending on the grower's level of activity. Blueberry growers with five acres or less pay $200 annually to be a member. Beyond five acres, the rate scales up $10 per acre per year not to exceed $1,000 per year for any member. Members with five acres or less do not have any voting rights, and other nonvoting association members include industry support vendors who pay $500 annually. "We represent 85 percent of the [blueberry] acreage in the California industry," said Tom Avinelis, vice president of the association and chief executive officer of Homegrown Organic Farms (formerly Sierra Heights Marketing). The association represents its members by engaging in research on varietals, pest control and harvest research news, and assists its members with new product registration. The association also is an information conduit for marketing, yield and production information The big news coming from the association is that it would like to form itself into a commission: CBA would be replaced by a commission that could collect assessments to promote blueberries. Blueberries need to be promoted, and under the current structure, the association "is not going to grow consumption," Mr. Avinelis said. To re-form the association into a commission would require a majority vote of its members. Should this happen, all California growers raising blueberries would pay an assessment. The commission would "spread marketing dollars that are collected uniformly," Mr. Avinelis said. The association will hold its first meeting on the issue of re-forming into a commission after the California blueberry harvest season concludes. Feedback on the possibility has been positive, and it is conceivable that a commission could be in place by the start of next year's blueberry harvest in California, Mr. Avinelis said. Many of the blueberry varieties grown in the Southeast also are grown in California; Most of California's blueberry varieties derive from work done at the University of Florida. California blueberries are "crunchier, sweeter and more flavorful" than blueberries grown elsewhere, Mr. Avinelis said. The largest volume of blueberries grown in California is in the Delano-Bakersfield area, and the Stockton area is second in production. The coastal regions of California tend to have longer harvesting seasons, he said. Mr. Avinelis said that there exists give and take on information sharing between the California Blueberry Association, the North American Blueberry Council and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, which exists under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture and manages the North American Blueberry Council. It gets involved in national research and promotion. California blueberry growers that produce more than 2,000 pounds annually are subject to a half-cent per pound assessment to the USHBC. There are about 80 growers in California that are subject to the USHBC's assessment, the rate of which has remained unchanged since the council's inception in 2001. The council also charges an assessment for any foreign highbush blueberries that enter the United States. "Our income to do market promotions has increased," said Mark Villata, executive director of USHBC. He said that assessments on blueberries coming into the United States from British Columbia account for a good portion of that collection. (For more on California blueberries, see the April 14 issue of The Produce News.) |