Golden State’s blueberry production up, prices in the red

Singing the blues: Through years of hard work, California farmers have dramatically increased their blueberry production, and the state is on track to become the third largest U.S. producer. Success took new, heat-tolerant varieties based on old tropical breeds, understanding the plants' soil and irrigation needs, and creative ways of reducing bird damage — one farm hired a falconer. Their reward for all of this hard work? Low market prices because of oversupply and high labor costs (approximately 70% of the total expense).  (Los Angeles Times)

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