In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the USHBC and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), recaps the Tech Tour that took place recently as part of Innovate 2021. Cronquist takes you on an audio version of the Tech Tour that highlights forward-thinking field experiments happening today in the blueberry industry.

In this episode, you’ll hear from:

• Josh Dietrich, farm manager at PanAmerican Berry Growers, talking about their cooling system that helped save their crop during the Pacific Northwest heat wave. 
• Dr. Bernadine Strik, professor of horticulture and a berry crop specialist at Oregon State University, demonstrating research on mulch and fertilization in organic blueberries.
• Jim Hoffman of Hopville Farms speaking about the energy savings of Monarch Tractors. 
• George Kaufman, an agronomist at Agricare, introducing a pollinator habitat project implemented at Halls Ferry Farm.
• Steve Erickson, president and CEO at PanAmerican Berry Growers, speaking about the value of collaboration to keep bringing new innovations to the table. 

To view the virtual Tech Tour videos from Innovate 2021, click the links below:

• OSU Extension
• Panamerican Berry Growers
• Monarch/Hopville, Bee Better, Agricare, Peerbolt

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 Peru and Federico Bayá from Argentina. This was recorded on October 20, 2021.

Marketing Boost

Halloween is right around the corner and it provides marketers a creative way to promote blueberries! USHBC is capitalizing on these next few days with photography, social media posts and recipes, which are also free for industry members. Check out the Fall & Winter Holidays toolkit to see the latest.