In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) is joined by Kevin Hamilton, USHBC’s vice president of communications and marketing, and Haiying Zhang, USHBC’s director of global business development. Zhang previously represented growers and stakeholders in the U.S. pistachio industry. As senior director of global marketing, she was responsible for executing marketing programs and budgeting in export markets, supervising public relations firms and overseeing USDA grant programs.

“If you look at what is global business development, it really is a process of identifying and pursuing opportunities, with the goal to expand the operations or your reach in new international markets. And so at USHBC, my role is really … to expand the global trade for blueberries by increasing consumption in international markets.” – Haiying Zhang

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Zhang and her role with USHBC.
• Details on the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) funding USHBC has been awarded to support next year’s market expansion.
• The opportunities USHBC representatives discovered at this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica conference.
• How to connect with Zhang (hzhang@blueberry.org) to get involved in the global market expansion for blueberries

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Andres Armstrong in Chile and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on October 17, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by April Stull, Ph.D. RDN, associate professor of nutrition sciences in the Department of Human Sciences and Design at Baylor University, and Leslie Wada, Ph.D., senior director of nutrition and health research at USHBC. Stull's work has furthered the reputation of and appreciation for the health benefits of blueberries, and USHBC’s health research program. Stull also authored a paper outlining the health benefits of blueberries, and she and Wada discuss the findings and impact this research can have.

“I'm particularly excited about investigating the health benefits of blueberries across different populations and their role in meeting nutritional needs throughout the lifecycle. So this includes studying their impact on children, older adults, underserved populations and individuals from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.” – April Stull, Ph.D., RDN

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Stull and her work.
• A discussion of her recently published research paper which highlights the impact of blueberries on overall health outcomes.
• An exploration of proposed future research projects that would continue to investigate the many health benefits of blueberries.

For more information, see additional research by Dr. Stull on blueberries and endothelial function and blueberries and insulin sensitivity.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on October 3, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” you’ll hear a live recording of U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and North American Blueberry Council (NABC) President Kasey Cronquist’s keynote address to the blueberry industry, which was recorded live at the 2024 Blueberry Summit in Denver. He was joined by Brad Moorer, CEO of MBG Marketing, blueberry grower Michael Hill and USHBC Chair Shelly Hartmann. Cronquist and his guests discuss the value of continued investment in the USHBC and the industry’s potential expansion.

“You have the USHBC … where you can collectively bring everybody together to pull the biggest lever that you have to bring consumers back to the category or to the category for the first time in such a way that helps lift demand. And that helps everybody. And that's why USHBC got started in the first place: There was vision in what was going to need to happen in order to handle the circumstances. And, today, we're in different circumstances. We're at a crossroad.” – Kasey Cronquist

Topics covered include:

• The need for an increased assessment for the blueberry industry.
• The industry’s perspective on what it will take to continue to expand blueberry demand globally, and the best strategy to accomplish this task.
• A grower's perspective on the proposed increased assessment, and the need this investment meets for producers in the industry.
• The goals of the USHBC, what an increased assessment will provide for the organization, and how an increased assessment will help USHBC better support blueberry producers.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Dr. Frank Wong, director of stakeholder relations at Bayer, and Alyssa Houtby, NABC director of government affairs. Before joining Bayer, Wong was an associate specialist in cooperative extension and a plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside. He has also served as the American Phytopathological Society's subject matter expert for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), providing information on plant diseases and disease management. Wong and Houtby discuss upcoming changes to EPA policies regarding pesticide and herbicide use.

“It's the public's problem. It is the grower's problem. It is the pesticide manufacturer's problem. And it is EPA’s problem. If we don't figure out a way to solve this, that means that essentially the majority of pesticides … registrations could be vacated … . And for sure a lot of the efforts that I think blueberry growers should be doing right now is just being aware that all this is happening, and there are opportunities right now for their input to change the policy.” – Dr. Frank Wong

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Wong and Houtby and their work.
• A discussion of the changes to EPA policies regarding pesticide and herbicide use that could impact blueberry producers.
• Where to learn more about the Endangered Species Act (WSSA.net) and how to view a story map that covers the evolution of the ESA and its intersection and interaction with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from TJ Hafner in Oregon, Luis Vegas in Peru, and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on September 19, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Michael La Kier, vice president of brand development at the Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA). IGA is the largest affiliation of independent grocers in the U.S. and worldwide, with 1,700 U.S. stores and over 6,200 stores globally. They have thousands of independents across the U.S. working together as one entity to give access to affordable technology, programs and partnerships with the world's top consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and service providers. Our shopper team has teamed up with IGA to help share blueberry value with consumers.

“So you have to think through in a very disciplined, strategic way of what's the point of inspiration and how do I activate it? What's that point of decision, and then point of transaction to be holistic about it? Which is what I love that you guys have started to do in terms of thinking through what is the retail strategy, not just how do we create awareness for blueberries.” – Michael La Kier

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to La Kier.
• An exploration of the strategies and efforts underway by IGA on behalf of the berry industry.
• The impact of the Organic Produce Summit and the insights we can gain from it for the blueberry industry.
• How the blueberry industry can collaborate with IGA now and into the future.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peru, Alan Schreiber in Washington and Brody Schropp in Michigan. This was recorded on September 12, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by MBG Marketing CEO Brad Moorer. MBG Marketing is a producer-owned blueberry and blackberry cooperative that was formed in 1936 as the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association. They have since expanded their membership to several other states, and today have over 200 growers, making them the largest marketer of fresh and processed, cultivated blueberries in North America. Moorer has previously joined our podcast on episode 108 and episode 109. He returns now to talk about leadership, marketing and his views on where the industry is headed and where it needs to go.

“We have the data today to manage more effectively than we did in the past and that certainly helped drive improved results on both the sales side and the expense management side. But we have had this headwind of inflationary environment that we've been operating in, and I think we'll all be glad to see if that ever goes back to more of a normal or at least a consistency where we could plan. … This is a long-term business, and you've gotta take that horizon when you get emotional about what's going on in the short term.” – Brad Moorer

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Moorer and his work.
• An exploration of the progress and market expansion MBG Marketing has provided Michigan Growers.
• A look at the new research agreement between Berry Blue (an MBG Marketing company) and the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from T.J. Hafner in Oregon and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on September 5, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Michigan State University Associate Professor Tim Miles and NABC Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby.. Miles is an associate professor in the Small Fruit and Hop Pathology Laboratory who has teamed up with researchers across the U.S. to study the management of anthracnose and botritus fruit rot in blueberries. Houtby works closely with the NABC Government Affairs Committee, and is also focused on funding and technical assistance opportunities for projects that improve blueberry production and market access.

“I'd love to improve fruit quality and improve shelf life and improve some of the environmental aspects of growing blueberries. We do have a lot of really great tools and synthetic pesticides that we've been working on for a long time, and there's been a lot of innovation in bio fungicides.” – Tim Miles

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Miles and Houtby.
• A discussion of the projects Miles has organized and contributed to, and how they impact the blueberry industry.
• An exploration of a project dubbed “BLUE DYNAMO,” and what it offers producers and researchers as far as opportunities to collaborate and integrate new protocols.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from T.J. Hafner in Oregon and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on August 29, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), welcomes several fellows from Class Two of the Blueberry Industry Leadership Program to discuss their experiences with the program and their most recent trip to observe the Peruvian blueberry industry. You’ll hear from Kat Morales, inbound and outbound administrator for Camposo; Chad Don, Oasis Blueberry business manager; and Kyle Straughn, managing owner and CEO of Straughn Farms. Joining them is Amanda Griffin, USHBC and NABC vice president of engagement, and the designer of the Blueberry Industry Leadership Program.

“The leadership development umbrella really stems from listening to leadership experts talk about their experiences and guiding the fellows in their individual leadership journeys, as well as introducing the fellows to other folks within the industry to broaden the scope and create more networking opportunities for the class, which ultimately … creates more retention of these leaders to stay within the blueberry industry and further drive the blueberry sector down the road.” — Amanda Griffin

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to a few Blueberry Leadership Program Fellows.
• The purpose, intent and goals of the program.
• The fellows’ recent trip to Peru.
• How to learn more about the Blueberry Industry Leadership Program.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Jason Smith in British Columbia, Alan Schreiber in Washington, TJ Hafner in Oregon, Brody Schropp in Michigan and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on August 22, 2024.