Wild blueberry growers in Nova Scotia are reviewing prospects for the coming season following severe drought conditions during the summer of 2025.
Janette McDonald, Executive Director of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, said the prolonged dry period resulted in a reduction of around 55 per cent in the province's wild blueberry crop. "Which resulted in berries that were shriveling and dropping off the plants and were unharvestable," she said. "It was just a lot of stress and worry and really just it wasn't a great feeling."
McDonald said conditions have changed following increased moisture levels during the autumn, leading growers to adjust expectations for the next production cycle. "More snow would be great. A nice blanket of insulation," she said. She added that freeze and thaw cycles remain a concern due to the potential impact on plant health and regrowth.
The drought has had financial consequences for producers across the region, with many growers reporting crop losses. To address these impacts, the association has requested financial assistance from the provincial government. "To pay bills that [our growers] have. Two years of inputs into crops…things like pollination, fuel, pesticides and chemicals used to manage weeds and pests and disesase."
McDonald said recent extreme weather events have made long-term planning more complex. Following floods in 2023 and drought in 2025, she noted that wild blueberries present particular challenges due to their production system. "For a crop like wild blueberry, it's a little bit more of an unknown. We can't just replant something if the plant dies," she said.
She explained that growers and industry groups are considering management practices aimed at supporting plant resilience, including mulching, mowing and alternative field management strategies. "What can we do to really protect the industry and move it forward? We're looking at those types of things."
The association said research and adaptation strategies will remain a focus as growers assess how repeated weather variability may influence production, costs and long-term field performance across Nova Scotia's wild blueberry sector.
Source: The Hawk
