{"id":8546,"date":"2026-05-16T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rjbarrett.redirectme.net\/?p=8546"},"modified":"2026-05-16T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:00:00","slug":"wild-blueberry-farms-across-maine-suffer-as-climate-change-upends-growing-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rjbarrett.redirectme.net\/?p=8546","title":{"rendered":"Wild blueberry farms across Maine suffer as climate change upends growing seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n This story was originally published by\u00a0Inside Climate News\u00a0<\/i>and is reproduced here as part of the\u00a0<\/i>Climate Desk<\/i>\u00a0collaboration.<\/i>\n <\/div>\n

Last summer, the wild blueberry fields at Crystal Spring Farm turned red too soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Severe drought had gripped most of the state of Maine. At his farm near the town of Brunswick, Seth Kroeck knew the leaves were changing color prematurely because the blueberry plants were stressed. Berries shriveled before they could ripen.<\/p>\n

The farm\u2019s 2025 harvest was almost a total loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got about 7 percent of our expected harvest,\u201d Kroeck, 55, said. Standing in his blueberry fields in April, he pointed out the new growth, still only a few inches high, and commented that last year\u2019s yield was \u201ca lot of raking with not a lot to show for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was just the latest in a series of devastating weather for Crystal Spring Farm\u2019s 72 acres of wild blueberries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last seven years, we\u2019ve lost the crop three times, almost completely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As the climate changes, these losses are getting more common for wild blueberry farmers. And, experts say, the solutions are pricey.<\/p>\n

Maine\u2019s quintessential fruit<\/h3>\n

Wild blueberries are an iconic food in Maine, like lobster rolls or whoopie pies. But they aren\u2019t the same as the fruits sold by the pint in a grocery store.<\/p>\n

Wild blueberries are smaller and have a stronger flavor than their cultivated counterparts. They\u2019re typically packed and frozen rather than sold fresh.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Wild blueberry bushes grow on sandy and gravelly soil in Maine, which can be difficult to irrigate.
\n Sydney Cromwell \/ Inside Climate News<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Maine\u2019s farms contribute almost the entirety of the United States\u2019 commercially sold wild blueberries. The industry harvested nearly 88 million pounds of fruit in 2023, bringing $361 million in revenue to the state, according to the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really something that\u2019s a backbone industry to the state and a part of the state\u2019s character,\u201d Kroeck said. A father of two, Kroeck grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and said gardening with a friend \u201cspiraled\u201d into an agricultural career. In college, he studied printmaking \u2014 a degree that he jokes is useful every day on the farm.<\/p>\n

One of the few native North American fruits, wild blueberry patches have often existed in the same spot for longer than the farms that now harvest them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blueberry plants have been there for millennia, and they have been cared for by generations of farmers before me, and then the Indigenous community [before that],\u201d said Kroeck, who also grows row crops and pasturage.<\/p>\n

An individual bush only produces fruit every other year, so farmers typically harvest about half their acreage in any given year. Also called \u201clowbush\u201d blueberries, the plants grow in dense mats on sandy, gravelly, or otherwise low-nutrient soil, primarily in eastern Canada and New England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBlueberry soil is not nutrient-rich. Nothing else wants to grow there \u2026 but wild blueberries love it,\u201d said Rachel Schattman, a professor of sustainable agriculture and leader of the Agroecology Lab at the University of Maine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Wild blueberries are smaller and have a stronger flavor compared to cultivated blueberries.
\n Courtesy of Rachel Schattman<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Schattman, 43, started working on vegetable and dairy farms in high school and continued farm work through the completion of her master\u2019s degree. She owned a commercial vegetable farm for 10 years while pursuing her interest in agricultural research and earning a doctorate at the University of Vermont.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schattman said the financial challenges of running a small farm eventually led her to pursue research full time. She worked for the USDA on climate change\u2019s interactions with agriculture before moving to Maine in 2020, where she met the wild blueberry for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt holds a really special place in the culture of Maine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Each patch has a variety of genetics rather than a monoculture. You can see \u2014 and taste \u2014 the plant\u2019s diversity once it begins producing berries, Kroeck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to fly over our blueberry field while they\u2019re fruiting, you\u2019d see a lot of subtly different shades of blue and black,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite their crop\u2019s hardy nature, wild blueberry farms are struggling to deal with recent extremes of temperature and precipitation. It\u2019s got the entire industry worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a real cultural loss to have fewer wild blueberry farms and fewer berries available in the future,\u201d said Lily Calderwood, a wild blueberry specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension whose research focuses on disease and pest management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She grew up surrounded by agriculture in Massachusetts and became fascinated with it on a trip to a Cape Cod cranberry bog as an undergraduate student. Calderwood, 39, worked at the nonprofit Earthwatch Institute, then earned her doctorate at the University of Vermont and later worked at the Cornell Cooperative Extension before coming to Maine eight years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stressed seasons<\/h3>\n

Maine\u2019s wild blueberry populations are caught in a climate hotspot, driven partially by rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine, Schattman said. According to 2021\u00a0research, the state\u2019s blueberry barrens are warming faster than the rest of the state, especially in locations closer to the coast.<\/p>\n

In response, the berries are ripening sooner, and farmers can miss part of their harvest if they\u2019re caught unaware. Calderwood said the crop was traditionally harvested in early or mid-August, but now most fruits are ready by late July. High heat also makes the harvest window shorter, she said, meaning farmers need additional labor and equipment to finish in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"\"
Scientists at the Wyman\u2019s Research Center in Maine study the effect of rising heat and changing rainfall on wild blueberries, one of the state\u2019s signature crops.
\n Courtesy of Rachel Schattman<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Kroeck said he was unprepared for the early ripening in some years, and harvesting late meant lower yields and worse fruit quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs farmers, we\u2019re very much attached to the season, and you kind of get into your ideas of when things need to be done,\u201d he said. Now, he has to spend more time observing conditions directly in the fields.<\/p>\n

Farmers can\u2019t rely on traditional knowledge \u2014 some of it passed down through families of growers \u2014 to plan their schedules anymore, Calderwood said. The farmers she works with have \u201cabsolutely no doubt\u201d that climate change is already affecting their livelihoods.<\/p>\n

Kroeck worked on farms in California, Massachusetts, and New York before he and his wife, a Massachusetts native, decided they liked the Maine farming community and moved to Crystal Spring Farm 22 years ago. In the last decade, he said, the unpredictable weather has far exceeded the typical year-to-year variation he was used to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the research, it\u2019s pretty hard to deny that we\u2019re living in a period of changing weather,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"\"
Scientists at the Wyman\u2019s Research Center in Maine study the effect of rising heat and changing rainfall on wild blueberries, one of the state\u2019s signature crops.
\n Courtesy of Rachel Schattman<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Kroeck serves on the boards of the Organic Farmers Association and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, both organizations that address climate change\u2019s impact on agriculture.<\/p>\n

Maine experienced severe droughts in 2020, 2022, and 2025, plus one of its wettest years on record in 2023. Too-wet conditions encourage disease and unchecked weeds in blueberry fields. Droughts, on the other hand, reduce the number of flowers that form and shrivel the fruit.<\/p>\n

Farms also contend with surprise frosts in late spring, which can kill flower buds right as they start to form, Kroeck said. Occasionally, warm autumns have caused the bushes to flower again just before winter, sapping energy and reducing their berry production the following year.<\/p>\n

Wild blueberries are dependent on steady levels of moisture throughout the growing season, Calderwood said. That\u2019s getting less and less common.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plant needs more water to keep the berries on the stems. And with less water and higher temperatures, they will shrivel and drop to the ground before a farmer can get to them,\u201d Calderwood said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And since wild blueberries only fruit every other year, Kroeck said extreme weather can have effects on multiple seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cA drought year is obviously going to affect the size of our fruit, but it\u2019s also going to affect that other half that\u2019s still in the vegetation state,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they\u2019re stressed from water and from temperature, they\u2019re not going to grow as robust as they would, and the fruit they put out is not going to be as big as it could.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cycle of loss<\/h3>\n

Last year, Maine saw a wet spring followed by hot, dry conditions that started in June. The drought intensified in August and lasted through the rest of the year and into 2026. Calderwood called it \u201ca classic example of climate whiplash.\u201d The Maine Wild Blueberry Commission estimates the industry lost $30 million in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was devastating for many farms in that region,\u201d said Calderwood, who is also on her town\u2019s conservation commission.<\/p>\n

Many blueberry farmers reported the loss of a third to half of their yields.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were reports of many, many acres of blueberries going unharvested because the berries had basically dehydrated on the bush,\u201d Schattman said.<\/p>\n

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Kroeck\u2019s 2025 losses were higher than most because his farm sits on exceptionally sandy soil, which doesn\u2019t hold water well. He has crop insurance, which covers some of the loss, but that insurance is partly based on the value of previous years\u2019 yields.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have losses in close succession, then your average harvest goes down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kroeck said he has applied for state and federal relief, but that money would be applied to his 2023 losses from a late freeze, which have been on the farm\u2019s books for nearly three years.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s wild blueberry industry has declined in recent years, both in the number of farms and the total acreage of commercial fields, according to Wild Blueberry Commission data, and financial stress is one of the reasons for that. Even Wyman\u2019s, one of the state\u2019s largest producers, plans to sell nearly 800 acres of blueberry fields this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been some pretty significant hits to wild blueberries in Maine in general,\u201d Kroeck said.<\/p>\n

Researchers like Schattman and Calderwood are trying to prevent climate change from being another reason that farms go under.<\/p>\n

Modeling blueberries\u2019 future<\/h3>\n

At the Wyman\u2019s Research Center farm in Old Town, Schattman and the climate adaptation research team are trying to simulate potential futures for Maine\u2019s wild blueberries.<\/p>\n

Researchers are halfway through a four-year study of how temperature, rainfall, and irrigation affect wild blueberries\u2019 growing conditions \u2014 from soil health to pollination \u2014 and fruit yields. They\u2019re also testing different climate scenarios for the end of the century to see how the plants handle extremely wet, extremely dry, or variable conditions.<\/p>\n

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\"\"
At Crystal Spring Farm, Seth Kroeck is adding irrigation lines to part of his blueberry fields this year to protect them from drought.
\n Sydney Cromwell \/ Inside Climate News<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The wild blueberries are grown under a range of conditions: Some have irrigation systems, some have mulch to slow moisture evaporation, and others have neither. Some bushes are grown in isolation, while others are clustered together to see how community and genetic diversity affect the plant\u2019s resilience.<\/p>\n

Schattman said open-top plexiglass structures passively trap heat around some of the blueberry plants on the farm, while others have heating coils to simulate heightened temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re collecting a massive amount of data,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Irrigation and, to a lesser extent, mulching are already showing promise in reducing drought impact. Mulch barriers reduce soil temperatures, lower the risk of disease, and slow weed growth, but they aren\u2019t enough to avert the effects of a severe drought like 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Mulching] is a really healthy thing to do for our fields,\u201d Calderwood said. \u201cIt can be used as a buffer for drought, but it cannot replace irrigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irrigation can be difficult with wild blueberries, since their preferred soil often isn\u2019t great for building wells or installing pipes, Schattman said. Most small growers don\u2019t have irrigation systems, leaving them vulnerable when droughts overlap with the growing season.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it\u2019s useless to install an irrigation system if you don\u2019t have a reliable water source,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

When the climate adaptation study is complete, Schattman said she hopes to have data that can create a roadmap for farmers to keep their crops healthy in future conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Calderwood\u2019s work at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension overlaps with Schattman\u2019s research, but much of it is hands-on in the fields of local blueberry farms.<\/p>\n

This summer, Calderwood will be working with a large producer, Brodis Blueberries, to see how plants develop in irrigated and non-irrigated portions of their fields, and whether they show signs of stress during dry periods.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s key to figure out when the timing of irrigation can make the most impact, Calderwood said, especially for farms that can\u2019t cover their entire acreage or may only be able to afford irrigation once or twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time the pump runs, it is an expense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s always expensive\u2019<\/h3>\n

Affordability is the roadblock that wild blueberry farmers keep running into when it comes to climate change, both Schattman and Calderwood said. From buying equipment to drilling wells to trucking in loads of mulch, major one-time investments are difficult for small farms with thin profit margins.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery farm needs irrigation, but they just simply can\u2019t afford it,\u201d Calderwood said.<\/p>\n

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At Crystal Spring Farm, Kroeck is trying to apply the University of Maine\u2019s recommendations. He has brought in over 100,000 square feet of mulch, which covers less than half of his 72 acres of blueberries. The Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, which is part of the USDA, subsidized some of the costs, which range between $5,000 and $10,000 each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers would not do that if NRCS was not paying for it,\u201d Calderwood said.<\/p>\n

Kroeck also bought irrigation equipment, which arrived in December. It cost $90,000 for the equipment and the new well, which will cover about a quarter of his blueberry fields.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always expensive, and it\u2019s always a gigantic cash flow game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Additional state and federal investment, from funding to technical expertise, could also fast-track irrigation for small farms, Calderwood said. But in the past year, funding has trended in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

The NRCS has lost funding and about a quarter of its staffing \u2014 more than 2,000 people \u2014 due to USDA budget cuts since the beginning of the current Trump administration. Maine also lost $15.5 million, intended for a pilot program that would have brought water management practices to between 25 and 45 wild blueberry farms, due to federal grant clawbacks.<\/p>\n

The state Drought Relief Fund has given grants for farmers to create water management plans, drill wells, or build storage ponds, but only two dozen of those were funded last year across all types of agriculture.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, profitability of wild blueberries is being squeezed by low market prices and competition from cultivated blueberry producers, Schattman said. Costs of fertilizer, labor, and equipment have risen too.<\/p>\n

Farms are earning about 50 percent less per pound of wild blueberries than they were a few years ago, according to the Wild Blueberry Commission. Kroeck said he knows many small farms are having a hard time getting their products into large grocery store chains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pricing is not very good as far as what those large chains are willing to pay,\u201d he said. \u201cThe market for wild blueberries has been flat or has been decreasing somewhat, and that\u2019s also very worrisome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kroeck is part of a group of farmers looking into selling more berries fresh instead of frozen, a move that would open up a new, potentially more profitable customer base but would also require new equipment and additional labor.<\/p>\n

Wild blueberry farmers need new markets or higher prices to afford expensive long-term projects, Schattman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s much more difficult when you\u2019re struggling to reach your sales goals,\u201d Kroeck said.<\/p>\n

In the absence of financial and technical support, Calderwood said it\u2019s likely that only the largest berry producers will be able to protect themselves from a warming future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a puzzle to figure irrigation out, and it needs federal funding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With or without irrigation, Calderwood said she doesn\u2019t think climate change will spell doom for a plant as resilient as the wild blueberry.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, there will be blueberries to harvest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But whether there will be enough berries to keep farms in business is another matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that we\u2019re going to be able to make the pivots that we need to make to save the crop,\u201d Kroeck said.<\/p>\n

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