© 2024 Maine Public

Bangor Studio/Membership Department
63 Texas Ave.
Bangor, ME 04401

Lewiston Studio
1450 Lisbon St.
Lewiston, ME 04240

Portland Studio
323 Marginal Way
Portland, ME 04101

Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.
106.5 WMEF-FM in Fort Kent is off the air for needed maintenance and upgrades including a new antenna installation. This work is estimated to last thru Friday. We apologize for the disruption.

USDA awards Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine $15 million to help producers combat climate change

FILE - In this July 30, 2015 file photo, a blueberry harvester makes its way through a field near Appleton, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP
FILE - In this July 30, 2015 file photo, a blueberry harvester makes its way through a field near Appleton, Maine.

The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service has awarded the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine over $15 million to help producers develop greater resilience to climate change.

In recent years, wild blueberry producers have been affected by drought and late frost events, leading to dramatic fluctuations in supply.

The Wild Blueberry Commission will use the money to help wild blueberry producers better conserve water with systems like improved irrigation and mulching.

Eric Venturini, Executive Director at the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine, said the project involves partnering with The University of Maine's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

"So we're doing sort of two things at once," Venturini said. "We're helping to develop a workforce and a pipeline to agricultural engineering here in Maine, which is sorely needed, and also leveraging that capacity at the university to help deliver what is desperately needed to our producers."

Venturini said climate related events have been crippling for these producers in recent years.

"For example, in 2020, there was a significant drought across the state. And because of the drought and also late frost events, producers lost across the state about 45% of their crop," he said.

Venturini expects funds to be available to producers as soon as next April but encourages producers to visit their local Natural Resources Conservation Service office to indicate their interest as soon as possible.