The US Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) is seeking candidates for the regional and alternate membership positions. The nomination period begins on February 1, 2021. Current terms as a regional and alternate member of the USHBC for the West, Midwest, Northeast, and South regions will expire on December 31, 2021.

Potential nominees must complete a USHBC nomination application and submit their application to the USHBC office no later than March 5, 2021. Nominations must be received directly from producers in each of the four regions. Nomination applications will be mailed directly to producers throughout the United States. Applications are also available online at the USHBC website, ushbc.org, or may be requested by contacting the USHBC office by phone at (916) 983-0111 or by email at elections@blueberry.org. Eligible nominated growers are those who produced 2,000 pounds or more of highbush (grown) blueberries in the United States during the period of January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.  

Once the nomination period closes, a ballot will be prepared for each region listing all the nominees for that specific region. Regional ballots will be mailed to producers on April 26, 2021. The voting period will be open for 35 days and will close on May 30, 2021.

Those who receive the most votes for each producer position will be recommended to the Secretary of Agriculture as members of the Regional Council. Those who obtain the second highest number of votes for each position will be recommended as regional alternates. The names of those who receive the third and fourth highest number of votes will also be sent to the Secretary for his consideration. Council members and alternates will serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2022. Members may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.

The USHBC has adopted a diversity outreach plan to attempt to achieve diverse representation on the council. USHBC programs are open to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, genetic information, parental status, and marital or family status. It is the policy of the USHBC that membership on the council and its committees reflect the diversity of people served by its programs.

To achieve this goal, the USHBC will strive to achieve representation from producers and other industry participants of diverse backgrounds on the USHBC council and committees. To this end, the USHBC strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to seek nominations to the USHBC and to participate in the activities of the USHBC council and committee.  

Producers and importers of tall blueberries approved the establishment of the USHBC through a referendum conducted by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service in 2000. The results of this referendum, announced on July 13, 2000, showed that the 68 % of those who voted favored the implementation of the Blueberry Promotion, Research and Information Order. Those who voted in favor accounted for 73% of the volume of cultivated blueberries represented in the referendum.

As required by the order every five years, a USHBC continuation referendum was held again in 2016, its fourth, with results showing that 74% of those who voted favored the continuation of the order. Those who voted in favor accounted for 80% of the volume of cultivated blueberries represented in the referendum.

The USHBC program was formally established in August 2000. The program is funded by an evaluation of $ 18 per ton on domestic tall (grown) blueberries and $ 18 per ton on imported fresh and processed grown blueberries. Market promotion activities funded through the USHBC program began in January 2002.