Listen On:
On this episode of the “Business of Blueberries,” we discuss the 2021 California blueberry harvest and how the Blueberry Marketing Resource Information Center (B-MRIC) has changed crop reporting for California growers.
Hosts Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Todd Sanders, executive director of the California Blueberry Commission, and Bill Steed, a grower and packer for Fairfield Farms in San Diego County.
“[A grower] looked at the data that was coming down the [B-MRIC] pipeline and they looked at the three-year average that we put out in the B-MRIC report, and they said, ‘I think the volume is going to be peaking in a couple of weeks. I want to get ahead of that.’ [The grower] harvested, they got their crew out of there and they were done. They weren’t going to wait.” – Todd Sanders
“Well, the downside is if we do nothing, we get to see the same thing happen, and the status quo in our industry right now is not acceptable.” – Bill Steed
Check out the B-MRIC report from the 2019-2020 California Blueberry Commission annual report here.
Watch a full roundtable discussion on data with Kasey Cronquist, along with Emiliano Escobedo of the Hass Avocado Board and Manuel Michel of the National Mango board.
Topics covered include:
- Sanders’ and Steed’s backgrounds.
- Preview of the California growing season.
- Comprehensive overview of the B-MRIC reporting system.
- Discussion of implementing a crop reporting system nationally.
Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peruo and Ken Patterson in Florida. This was recorded on March 31, 2021
Marketing Boost
Social media and influencer marketing is an important part of driving blueberry demand in USHBC’s new Grab a Boost of Blue positioning and consumer call to action. This week’s Marketing Boost details how a blueberry cookie recipe went viral. You can watch the video on TikTok here.