Bumper blueberry crop expected
Wild blueberry growers in Maine are anticipating a bumper crop of between 90 million to 95 million pounds for this year's harvest, which begins this week.
If the actual harvest proves them right, it will be the biggest crop since 2000, when the harvest was a record 110 million pounds. David Yarborough, blueberry specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension says if there's a drought, the harvest could end up being less; if there's a lot of rain it could exceed expectations.
Maine's blueberry crop has averaged from 80 million to 85 million pounds a year the past five years, he told The Associated Press.
With 60,000 acres of fields, Maine is the No. 1 wild blueberry state. According to The Associated Press, growers in 2011 averaged nearly 91 cents a pound for their harvest, up from 61 cents in 2010 and 36 cents in 2009, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Last year's harvest was worth $75 million
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