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USDA: Maine Blueberry Prices Sank to 10-Year Low in 2016

Lee Coursey
/
via Wikimedia Commons
A clump of wild blueberries growing in Maine.

Maine wild blueberries once again decreased in value in 2016. New numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have the price at a 10-year low - 27 cents a pound.

But the harvest is only about a month away, and Maine Blueberry Commission Executive Director Nancy McBrady says growers have taken steps this year to reduce yields, and, hopefully, increase prices.

"We are likely going to have a somewhat smaller crop this year, and it is my understanding that some farmers in Canada will also be doing the same," McBrady says. "So collectively a smaller crop between the two countries might be anticipated and could help stabilize prices."

McBrady says Maine accounts for about a quarter of the wild blueberry crop available in North America. The rest comes from Canada.

Nora Flaherty
Nora is originally from the Boston area but has lived in Chicago, Michigan, New York City and at the northern tip of New York state. Nora began working in public radio at Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor and has been an on-air host, a reporter, a digital editor, a producer, and, when they let her, played records.