Blueberry season looks sweet for Central Florida growers
The professional pickers’ fingers fly through rows of bushes at Tom West Blueberries in search of indigo-colored berries among the green and violet fruit. ... [READ MORE]
It looks like a berry good year for Florida Blueberry Farmers
Blueberries are like comedy. It's all about timing. There's a sweet spot, after Chilean imports and before the Georgia harvest, in which Florida's southern high bush berries are not just the only game in town. [...]
Important Message for FBGA Members Regarding Fresh From Florida Funding
FBBGA Members: There are rumblings in Tallahassee that some of OUR representatives are trying to gut the Fresh From Florida program. As you know, Fresh From Florida helps promote our blueberries throughout the country and [...]
President’s Letter: Learning from the past and moving forward
ONE OF THE GREAT PARTS of working in Florida agriculture is that every year we get to start fresh. If we learn from past successes or mistakes, then we have another opportunity to do a better job in a new season. But putting last season behind us will not be easy for some. While those fortunate few who had a good season or those who had crop or whole farm revenue insurance will be okay, many other farms are strained financially. […]
Join “Fresh From Florida”
The vast majority of Florida’s 47,000 agricultural producers are small farmers. As such, they do not have the resources to individually conduct promotional and advertising campaigns to help market their products. By joining the Florida Agricultural Promotional [...]
President’s Letter: Remaining Committed and Vigilant as Ever
AS YOU ARE ALL AWARE, our last season was one of the most challenging ones we have ever experienced. Warmer-than-normal conditions during late fall and winter delayed the onset of dormancy and resulted in very low winter chill accumulation. The unusually warm winter, combined with an El Niño climate phase (cloudy and cool conditions during our fruit set and development phase), were major factors delaying harvest of the 2016 Florida blueberry crop. As a result, we were later than we have ever been on our harvest, which meant our fruit hit the market at an unusual time this year. […]
From the desk of President Dudley Calfee…
As you are all aware, our last season was one of the most challenging ones we have ever experienced. Warmer than normal conditions during late fall and winter delayed the onset of dormancy and resulted [...]
USDA Crop Insurance Risk Management Fact Sheet
All of your blueberries in a county are insurable if: The actuarial documents provide premium rates; They are varieties of the Highbush or Rabbiteye typesthat are adapted to the area where planted; They are grown [...]
PRESIDENT’S LETTER: Overcoming the Challenges at Hand
It is no secret that we are up against another challenging season. The lack of chill throughout our state has caused our crop to be slow and most of it will be ripening later than our traditional harvest time. All reports indicate that our neighbors to the north are running on time and may even be a little early this year. A lot of fruit is going to hit the market at an unusual time this year. What can we, as growers, do to mitigate this problem? […]
FBGA Honors Sherri Brothers for 21 Years of Service
A special thank you to retiring board member, Sherri Brothers. Thank you for 21 years of service to the Florida Blueberry Growers Association
PRESIDENT’S LETTER -The Hot Topics on Everyone’s Minds
I am writing this letter in mid-December and right now the only thing I hear our blueberry growers talking about is “chill.” In the midst of this hot topic, the two words I hear most [...]
Spring Meeting and Trade Show
Florida Blueberry Growers learn about how this year’s weather and dormancy breaking treatments are affecting the 2016 blueberry crop in Florida and Georgia. The Spring Meeting and Trade Show was held at the Hillsborough Community College [...]
