By Clint Thompson
Florida’s recent lack of success in profiting from its blueberry crop has prompted some farmers to leave the business altogether.
“I already know of three farms for sale. I think you’re going to see a couple of people go out of business,” said Ryan Atwood, who lives in Mount Dora, Florida and farms 56 acres of blueberries, manages another 350 acres and is part-owner of the largest packing house in the Southeast United States.
“I think it’s been building up for some of the folks. I think the writing is on the wall with this Mexico stuff. All of our costs keep going up, inflationary. Our picking costs are through the roof; fertilizer and ag chemicals have been up. General labor is up. Insurance is up. Everything is up, but the price isn’t up.”
That was especially true this year. While a decent price in some years, it wasn’t high enough to overcome the spike input costs.
“The price wasn’t terrible at the beginning (of this year). It was like $4.50 a pound which is a decent price. The problem is you used to start at like $7 or $8 in Florida. Those days are long gone, and everybody knows it,” Atwood said. “Where’s this thing going? Your costs are all going up, and the price is going down. It’s like your margins are just eroding.”
Atwood was not immune to the financial difficulties that growers like himself faced this year.
“Out of the 10 farms I own or manage, I think three of them are going to be slightly in the black and the other seven are in the red,” Atwood said. “I’m one of the better growers, and I’m batting 30% average on trying to make some money this year. Just knowing the people that I pack for in the packinghouse, I think a couple of people made some money, but not very many.”
Margins are likely to only decrease as labor rates continue to increase in Florida.
“H-2A minimum wage is going to go up every year from here on out. Based on the return we’re getting on our fruit, I don’t see how, five years from now, you’re supposed to make any money in this business,” Atwood said.