Ontario blueberries are coming on and making the most of the province’s 400 acres of high bush variety. “We’re just starting our harvest. Supply is good right now, it’s ramping up,” said Morris Gervais of Barrie Hill Farms. “The crop looks to be one of the better crops in the last several years, mostly because it was a mild winter. The previous two winters were really cold and hard on the bushes but this year from what I’m hearing from reports across the province the crop is pretty good.”
Selling local versus wholesale
Since most blueberry farms in Ontario are smaller but are situated next to a high population base, offering pick your own or selling direct at a farmer’s market makes the most sense economically. “The wholesale markets are dominated by big US growers in New Jersey and huge operations in British Columbia. Both those places have huge swaths of land where the soil is right and the climate is even friendlier for growing blueberries than in Ontario. We’re at the northern end of where you can economically grow blueberries because they can’t handle the severe winters that we have. It’s really hard to compete on that level,” said Gervais.
Marketing farm to table
Ontario growers can position themselves as a premium product from farm to table. “I think that’s starting to resonate with consumers now. They want to keep their food dollars in Ontario at all cost. As long as we’re getting the support of local consumers hopefully we won’t have to be dependent on getting into large wholesale (deals).” The majority of the produce markets towards pick-your-own and a smaller portion for wholesale at supply chains or the Toronto Food Terminal. “I have to make sure I have enough for my own market before I start wholesaling,” he said. Smaller farms often find it difficult to compete with the larger growing regions in Canada and the US, such as British Columbia and New Jersey, when the retail market is flooded with berries. “Because I’m one of the furthest north producers in Ontario when (other) supply dries up from the other regions that’s when I like to get into wholesale market because the prices have come back up,” he said. “It’s to my advantage. I sometimes go late August early September because that’s when the market is usually pretty strong because there also isn’t any blueberries from Chile. No other growing region has any blueberries at that point.”
Things are looking good for the Ontario blueberry so far. “It’s been an excellent start to the season. It was the best pollination weather I can remember in many years,” noted Gervais. “It was sunny and warm and the bees could do their job. Fruit quality is excellent. It’s an exciting time of year. It’s nice to see what looks like a pretty decent crop for a change because farmers across Ontario after the previous two hard winters crops have been down. To get a crop that’s above average is nice to see for a change.”
For more information:
Morris Gervais
Barrie Hill Farms
Ph: (705) 728-0571