Yarborough cited in Portland Press piece about plight of blueberry industry
David Yarborough, a a professor in the School of Food and Agriculture and wild blueberry specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, was quoted in a Portland Press Herald story about difficulties in the blueberry business. A glut of frozen blueberries has led to depressed prices and farmers are absorbing huge losses, according to the article. This summer, farmers may not pick berries because they’d spend more harvesting than they could make on the crop. Because of the glut, Yarborough said some Maine growers cut back on production and ordered fewer bees to pollinate the plants. “The hives are expensive,” he said. “Having a large crop again is probably not good, at least not until we can get the demand back up.” A positive sign for wild blueberries is in production of organic berries, he said. “Demand is good and sales are good.”