This year's harvest was supported by constant prices for most of the season.

“That freeze that affected Texas pushed Mexico back a bit. The volume of Mexican fruit during our window was not as great as before, ”said Atwood, who lives in Mount Dora, Florida and grows 56 acres of blueberries, manages another 350 acres and is co-owner of the largest packinghouse. house in the southeastern United States. “At the same time, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries weren't that common. Grocery store shelves, Florida blueberries came to take up space on their own.

Stability and demand

“It allowed for a more stable and calm market than we are used to. Typically, you start selecting volume and the price starts to drop quickly. This year, it stayed there for a while. It was nice."

Profitable season much needed

It was an important season for blueberry growers like Atwood, who needed a profitable season.

"I think it was very important, because to be honest, Florida blueberries haven't had a good year in a long time," Atwood said. “I always tell people that farming is a five-year average. You should look at your earnings as a five-year average,” Atwood said. You're going to have some bad years and hopefully you'll have some good years. You're going to have some mediocre years. When you average them all out, hopefully, over that five-year period, you're doing well. You have to have a couple of decent years to get that average up.”

Atwood estimates it was 80% finished this year when prices began to fall, which coincided with the arrival of the Georgia blueberry crop on the market.