USDA Pushes Back Release Of 2011 Blueberry Yield Figures
February 20, 2012 | 1 min to read
MACHIAS, Maine — Federal budget cuts have delayed until March the release by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of its estimate of Maine’s 2011 wild blueberry harvest.
Government statisticians traditionally release those figures in early February, but this year they won’t be ready for prime time until March 15, said David Yarborough, the Maine Extension Service wild blueberry specialist.
Yarborough said Wednesday that it’s his best guess that Maine’s 2011 crop will be “normal” at about 80 to 85 million pounds. The bulk of those berries were grown in barrens in rural Washington County. Yarborough said midcoast growers had lower yields per acre than did their Down East counterparts, due to weather during pollination and a lack of rainfall during the run up to harvest.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Bangor Daily News