Wild blueberry production takes a dip in the face of drought

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The nation’s production of wild blueberries slipped a bit last year as some growers contended with drought. Wild blueberries are smaller than their cultivated cousins and are widely used in frozen and processed products such as smoothie mixes. Maine is the only state in the U.S. where the blueberries are harvested commercially. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the 2022 harvest of the blueberries fell a little more than 25% to 77.5 million pounds. That was still a relatively strong year, and the third-most since 2017.