BURBANK, Walla Walla County — The boom in the blueberry industry is blossoming across Eastern Washington.
Jim Lott of Blue Mountain Farms in Burbank was among just a handful of blueberry growers five years ago in Eastern Washington, where production of the heart- and brain-healthy crop was almost negligible.
Two years ago, that number climbed to about 2,500 acres. This year, it is estimated at 3,180 acres in Eastern Washington alone, with 9,480 acres across Washington, the sixth-leading blueberry production region in North America.
"The reality is we're talking about an industry that overall is going to triple in size in a short period of time," said Alan Schreiber, director of the Washington Blueberry Commission. "I know of no perennial crop growing at this rate, and certainly none in the Northwest tripling in size.
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