Maine's blueberries are not faring well in the heat and the dry conditions that have settled over three-quarters of the state in the last week. Eric Venturini, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine, said while it's too soon to offer an estimate, this year's harvest will likely be smaller compared to recent years.
First, too much rain in the spring and early summer made for poor pollination, he said.
"We had generally started to recover from that, and thought we might have a slightly below average crop, but OK," Venturini said. "The last couple of weeks — the last week or so in particular — we've seen the cumulative effects of this hot and dry summer. And the crop's really turned a corner."
Many farmers are making decisions in the next few days about whether to stop harvesting, Venturini said. Lisa Hanscom, who runs Welch Farm in Roque Bluffs with her father, said she will rake whatever suitable berries are left. The crop was doing OK until this week, she said, when the heat dried up the remaining blueberries.
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