Blueberry harvest on pace to best 2011 yield
The early forecast of a bumper crop of wild blueberries appears to be coming to fruition, with Down East harvesters reporting higher yields as this year's harvest season comes to an end.
David Yarborough, wild blueberry specialist for University of Maine Extension, told the Bangor Daily News he expects this year's crop statewide will approach 100 million pounds. It won't be a record crop, he said, but it's a significant increase over last year's harvest of 83 million pounds.
Yarborough told the BDN that yields have been higher on the coast than inland, ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 pounds per acre. He attributed the difference to coastal areas having had more rain this summer, which plumps up the blueberries and adds weight.
Citing lower yields in Quebec, and for cultivated blueberries in Michigan and the Pacific Northwest, Yarborough anticipated that Maine's harvesters will be paid 90 cents a pound or better for this year's harvest, which is comparable to last year's price.
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