Southeastern NC blueberry crop affected by weather and labor shortage

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — The blueberry season is winding down across Southeastern North Carolina but local farmers aren’t exactly thrilled with this year’s crop due to a number of reasons.

Problems for local farmers began in January with warmer temperatures than normal which made plants start growing followed by an early freeze in February which eliminated all early blooming varieties.

By the time mid- to late-season varieties started yielding fruit, the coronavirus hit which put a stop on migrant laborers from coming into the country to harvest the crop.

Due to a lack of laborers, most farmers had to resort to machine picking of their crop. This process, however, is less desirable because it often causes more bruising of the fruit. As a result, most machine-harvested fruit is sold to producers of frozen fruit, or used in the production of preserves and jams which brings in less money.

If the situation wasn’t already bad enough, lots of rain in recent weeks haven’t helped the situation as local farmers have been trying to harvest their remaining crop.

“This year’s crop will be severely impacted and the crop loss could be in the millions of dollars,” said Pender County Cooperative Extension Director Mark Seitz. “This year’s quality is so marginal that pricing might be $4-6 or more per flat less than previous years.”

While the blueberry season is winding down, Seitz says farmers should have a better picture of the total economic loss by the end of July.