By Clint Thompson
Florida blueberry growers are on the cusp of harvesting this year’s crop. In fact, some have already started to do so, says Doug Phillips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) blueberry Extension coordinator.
He discussed this year’s harvest season which is starting later than normal.
“It depends on the portion of the state they’re in. There’s one farm I know down in Highlands County that started scrapping, picking small amounts (two weeks ago). I think some of the other south Florida growers probably (this) week will start picking smaller amounts,” Phillips said. A colder winter, specifically in late January, led to the short delay.
“From talking to growers across the state, a lot of them said they’re maybe a week and a half behind what they normally would be. I think that’s just because we had some longer stretches of cold weather this winter than we’ve typically had. Nothing significant but maybe a week and a half behind,” Phillips said. “I’m seeing a lot of fruit on the plants. I think production wise it’s going to be really good yield, good production season.
“You want good yields every year but this year in particular looks really good from a yield’s perspective. A week and a half behind is not really too far behind for most folks.”
The main concern now is how a delayed start to harvest will impact market pricing. If Florida producers start harvesting later, will that overlap with Georgia’s harvest window and drive prices down?
“Market pricing wise, a lot of it will depend on how quickly Georgia comes into the market. But if we’re late, I would guess they’re probably a little behind, too,” Phillips said.