'An emotional difficulty': Blueberry growers hampered by dry season, low prices

New Brunswick blueberry growers faced the driest season of the last two decades this year, with lower yields across the province as a consequence.

"It's an emotional difficulty," saidRuss Weir, who ownsMcKay'sWild Blueberries inPennfield, west of Saint John.

"It affects your whole view of the future ... you're wondering if it will be the same next year."

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Thanks to the unusually dry season, farmers are only expecting between40 and 50 million pounds of wildblueberries across the province, about 30 million pounds less than in 2016.

"We've all had to look at our bottom lines pretty carefully," said Weir. "I know some farmers that have several fields[who] say, 'Imight have to put that field to sleep for a while because the profit isn't there.'"

It's not just dry weather that's being blamed for the shortage of blueberries this year, but also the unusually bountiful harvestin 2016.

We have a lot of part time farmers, but we also have some full time guys that rely solely on blueberries.-JohnSchenkels

Last year,New Brunswick's blueberry production grew to82million pounds fromabout 20 to 30million poundsper year a decade ago,creatingan oversupply of inventory.

Demand hasn't yet caught up.

Demand isn't there

"It's almost hopeless in trying to make a profit, because the oversupply has been so large, the demand drops when that's the case," said Weir.

"Berries are frozen in the freezer from the last year or so and they haven't moved."

As a result, the price of wild blueberries is at an all-time low.

The 200 blueberry farmers across the provincetypically make between 30 and 50 cents per pound forwild blueberries, said JohnSchenkels, chairman of Bleuets NB Blueberries.

This summer, some of those farmers are only making20 cents per pound.

Schenkels said this could create financialdifficulties for someblueberry growers, who need to make about 50 cents per pound in order to turn a profit.

"They'regoing to have to assess going forward what they're going to do as far as putting money back into the crop to grow next year's crop," he said.

"We have a lot of part-time farmers, but we also have some full-time guys that rely solely on blueberries."

On the upside, Weirsaid there are also factors will help generate better crops, such asresearch that could improve the current understanding of pollination bybothhoneybees and bumblebees.

He said the growing season has also lengthened into the fall, allowing blueberry plants to grow extra buds per stem.

"It wouldbe nice if everybody got up in the morning and tossed a few blueberries on their cereal or made an extra blueberry pie once in a while," said Weir.