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.