U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

Leadership Class Spotlight: Meet Brody Schropp Class 3 of the Blueberry Industry Leadership Program is in full swing, and we’re excited to introduce you to a fellow from the class each month in our Behind the Blue newsletter and LinkedIn! Meet Brody Schropp, MBG Marketing? Marketing Great Lakes horticulturist!? 1. Do you have any pets? No, I do not have any pets. 2. Tell us about your family. I'm the youngest of three brothers; one lives close to me in Holland, Michigan, and the other is in Cleveland. My folks live in Florida and greatly enjoy the 12 months of warm weather. I have also been with my girlfriend for the past eight years, and she works for the government in Michigan. 3. What’s your background in blueberries? I’m a horticulturist for MBG Marketing? Marketing. I work with growers and partner with them to navigate toward higher yields. Additionally, I conduct research to discover elevated practices in blueberry cultivation in hopes of improving grower profitability. 4. What’s your favorite blueberry form or dish?? Call me a traditionalist, but I like them fresh! 5. What’s the most surprising thing about the blueberry industry? To me, the most surprising thing is globalization. For a perishable crop to be supplied 52 weeks a year, a lot of people from all over the world must be engaged and contributing. 6. What are you looking forward to most as part of the leadership class?? I’m looking forward to exposure to all the different facets of the blueberry industry. I spend a lot of time in the fields with growers, but I'm excited to explore everything that happens after the fruit is put in a clamshell better! Amanda Griffin, CMP, IOM Mandy Boarman, CEM

Did you catch the latest episode? ???? ?? ?? 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 blueberry producer and innovative farmer Samuel Gray, and Laina Gray, U.S. operations manager for FineField. Sam is the farm manager for his family’s business, PineBloom Farms, in Albany, Georgia. He created a process for using FineField’s Harvy 500 and the Burro automated cart to improve blueberry harvest efficiencies. Laina has firsthand experience with the Harvy 500, Finefield’s solar-powered robotic autonomous harvester. Together, they share insights on this collaboration and the benefits it offers blueberry producers when it comes to future automated processes. “So, I had no idea that we were going to use them both in tandem. It just seemed easier and maybe less wear and tear on everybody kind of involved in the operation. And then also the benefit … with the Harvy is as we're continually loading and unloading the fruit, it is probably not being in the heat off the bush for more than 10 to 15 minutes because it's going off the machine, it's getting palletized, and it's immediately being put in a refrigerated trailer. So, it just helps with getting that fruit to a temperature where if it does have bruising or if it does have defects, it will kind of slow the decay.” — Sam Gray Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/gZGsyu_A #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #SamGray #LainaGray?#FineField #Harvy500 #Farming #Burro #AutonomousHarvester #Blueberries #Robotic #SolarPowered #BlueberryProduction #TheBusinessofBlueberriesPodcast

Blueberry Assessments: What You Need To Know with Crystal Wills! ?? ?? In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by USHBC Compliance Coordinator Crystal Wills. In her role as compliance coordinator, Wills ensures the timely and fair collection of all assessments from imported and domestic blueberry production. USHBC assessment forms are due Nov. 30, and Wills walks listeners through the process of completing the forms, shares available resources to help with questions, and explains the penalties levied if the deadline is not met. “The law requires that the grower or importer of record, if you have over 2,000 pounds of berries, you're going to pay nine-tenths of a penny per pound or 18 per ton, and that's going to be on fresh and frozen berries. This is going to come into the USHBC, and that's going to be for the purposes of research and promotion. So we're making sure that that's happening across the board.” – Crystal Wills Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/g_Qdt8Xx #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #CrystalWills #ComplianceCoordinator #Imported #Domestic #BlueberryProduction #TheBusinessofBlueberriesPodcast #Blueberries #Assesment?

Jerry Baron is Delivering Crop Protection Solutions for Blueberry Growers! ?? In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by the Executive Director of the The IR-4 Project, Jerry Baron, Ph.D., and NABC Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby. The IR-4 Project was established in 1963 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and land-grant universities to ensure that specialty crop farmers have legal access to safe and effective crop protection products. Baron has been the IR-4 Project's executive director since September 2006. Alyssa Houtby works closely with the NABC’s Government Affairs Committee to identify and advance the industry's public policy goals through the council’s advocacy platform. “The reason why the program exists is because the companies that register products … focus their research and development area on crops that give them a large and rapid return on investments, i.e. they go after corn, soybeans, cotton, so on and so forth. The specialty crops … don't have access to those products. And one of the things we do as a government organization is we go out there and develop the data to show what type of residues remain on the crop at harvest.” – Jerry Baron, Ph.D. Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/g6FDTHDh #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #IR-4Project #TheBusinessofBlueberriesPodcast #Blueberries #JerryBaron #IR4Project #PestManagement #SpecialtyCrops

Save the Date! Michigan growers, join the USHBC for industry meetings taking place in South Haven and West Olive on Nov. 25 ?? Please scan the QR code below to RSVP. We look forward to seeing you there! Kasey Cronquist Kevin Hamilton Amanda Griffin, CMP, IOM Mandy Boarman, CEM Shelly Hartmann Tom Bodtke

Happy Halloween from the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council !?? ?? ?? ?? #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #Blueberries #HappyHalloween

Did you catch the latest episode? ???? In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by Steve M., Agrovision’s co-founder and executive chair. Agrovision is a leading vertically integrated global healthy snacking superfruit platform with operations in Perú, Mexico, Morocco, Chile, Romania, China, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Egypt, and the United Kingdom. You can hear Magami’s previous appearances on the show in episodes 115 and 166. Episode 115: https://lnkd.in/gY4EED9Z Episode: 166: https://lnkd.in/gG7f3V-f “We're seeing the opportunity to continue to develop cutting-edge software technology to deliver this consistent, high-quality experience year-round. We're working hard on the times of the year when our volumes of that better berry are not as strong as the strongest times of year, really to get it to a consistent level of volume.” – Steve Magami Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/g6J-gG4q #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #Agrovision #TheBusinessofBlueberriesPodcast #Blueberries #SteveMagami #Snacking #Global #HealthySnacking

Blueberries are hitting the big screen as part of a multi-sensory experience in the film “Heretic.”????? ?In select theaters, audiences will catch the scent of fresh blueberry pie during a key scene, blending sight and smell for an immersive experience. This breakthrough moment brings storytelling to new heights. Get all the details here: https://lnkd.in/gG6P9mWK #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #Blueberries #BlueberyPie #Heretic #Storytelling?

What a fantastic week in Atlanta at the International Fresh Produce Association's Global Produce & Floral Show where we showcased the remarkable impact and success of USHBC's Grab a Boost of Blue program at retail! This was the third time U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council participated in this show, and what a difference a year makes! It was great to see, hear and share how far we have come since launching Grab a Boost of Blue. Go Blueberries!????? ???? #GrabABoostofBlue #IFPA2024 #Blueberries #InspiringPossibilities #GPFS2024 #FoodIndustry #Produce #Teamwork Kasey Cronquist Kevin Hamilton Mandy Boarman, CEM Amanda Griffin, CMP, IOM Chelsea Consalo David Jackson

Did you catch the latest episode? ???? In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council 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,” said Haiying Zhang, USHBC’s director of global business development. Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/gEPtzWFE #GoBlueberries #InspiringPossibilities #USHBC #GlobalBusiness #TheBusinessofBlueberriesPodcast #Blueberries #ExportMarket?