The Business of Blueberries

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 ), welcomes back Cort Brazelton of Fall Creek Farms and Nursery . A regular contributor to the podcast, Brazelton brings his characteristic energy and insights to the conversation, which covers recent changes at Fall Creek — in...

In this special episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), delivers a keynote on why industry progress comes from people working together, and shares USHBC’s role in growing the entire blueberry category. Cronquist outlines the need to balance a 148% supply increase over 1...

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 Oregon Blueberry Sales Manager Doug McCann . Oregon Blueberry is one of the largest wholesale blueberry nurseries in North America. McCann brings deep expertise in supply-and-demand forecasting, and his work s...

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 VentureFuel Founder and CEO Fred Schonenberg . VentureFuel is an innovation advisory firm that helps major brands, such as Netflix and General Mills, unlock growth through startup collaborations. The USHBC p...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Walmart Senior Merchandising Director Melissa Byland . As one of the world’s largest blueberry buyers, Walmart relies on experts like Byland to ensure customers receive great quality and value with each p...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), continues his conversation about the Peruvian blueberry industry with the general manager of Proarándanos , Luis Miguel Vegas . As a reminder, Proarándanos is the Peruvian Blueberry Growers' and Exporters' Association. Vegas discuss...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by David Magaña , senior vice president and senior analyst at RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness . Magaña is responsible for covering and analyzing the U.S. and North American fresh fruit and vegetable industries for Rab...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined once again by Luis Miguel Vegas , general manager of Proarándanos , the Peruvian Blueberry Growers & Exporter Association. Vegas leads the charge in representing and promoting Peru's blueberry sector globally and share...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Dana Concepcion , senior director of fresh and frozen at Walmart Connect . Concepcion sits at the intersection of fresh merchandising and modern digital advertising. In her role, she drives advertising growth across som...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” we welcome guest host Steve Mantle , founder and CEO of Innov8.ag and USHBC’s partner in the BerrySmart Field program, who’s joined by Tim Bucher , CEO and founder of Agtonomy . Together, they discuss how autonomy and physical AI are reshaping farm work in specialty crops, including blueberries. Bucher discusses how he brings together his backgroun...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by first-time guest and Blueberry Leadership Program class four fellow Fletcher Simmons . Simmons is a fourth-generation farmer from Archer, Florida. He’s currently the operations manager at Straughn Farms, one of the larg...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Denny Vander Kooi, a third-generation blueberry grower from Allegan, Michigan, who’s currently serving as Michigan’s representative on the USHBC Council. Beyond the farm, Vander Kooi has become an important voice around...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by Tammy Brannen , owner of Creekside Berry Farms in Georgia. Brannen spent more than 20 years as a registered nurse before returning to her family’s agricultural roots. Today, she combines that clinical expertise with her farming...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Haiying Zhang , USHBC’s director of global business development. Zhang has spent the last several years helping position U.S. blueberries for growth far beyond our domestic market by building relationships and helping e...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Brandon Raso , Variety Farms farm and operations manager, and the recent recipient of the 2026 National Outstanding Young Farmer award. Raso is a fourth-generation grower at Variety Farms in Hammonton, New Jersey, where...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Counci (NABC)l, is joined by Brian Bocock , president and CEO of MBG Marketing . After more than three decades helping shape the berry business from the warehouse floor to executive leadership at Naturipe Farms , Bocock has stepped into a new role wi...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) , is joined once again by Leslie Wada , Ph. D. Dr. Wada is USHBC’s senior director of nutrition and health research. She’s also a researcher, scientist and a registered dietitian who has spent over 15 years working alongside our indust...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Kevin Hamilton , vice president of global marketing and communications for USHBC and NABC. Over the past two years, Hamilton and his team have elevated how we look at what’s next for driving consumer demand for blueberr...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” we’re sharing the highly requested and well-attended panel discussion Understanding Mexico’s Production Landscape from The 2026 Blueberry Hill Climb and Industry Meetings. Facilitated by U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) vice chair Brittany Lee , this session brings together an elite panel of veteran voices providing firsthand experience on s...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by blueberry grower and new USHBC Chair Ellie Norris . Making her fourth appearance on “The Business of Blueberries,” she joins us to share her goals for her leadership roles in the blueberry industry, including a strong e...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Tom Barnes , interim director of data and business intelligence at the USHBC and NABC, and president and CEO of Category Partners . Barnes is a veteran of the perishables industry with a deep passion for how data drives...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” we welcome guest host Steve Mantle , founder and CEO of Innov8.ag and USHBC’s partner in the BerrySmart Field program, who’s joined by Charlie Andersen , CEO and founder of Burro , and Noe Toribio , customer success manager at Burro. Together, they discuss on-farm efficiency potential using autonomous robotics. They share the impact this technology...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Lisa Wasko DeVetter , Ph. D., a professor of small fruit horticulture in the Department of Horticulture within the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. Her work focuses on applied research and e...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Tim Miles, Ph. D ., an associate professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University, where he leads the Small Fruit and Hop Pathology Program. Miles’ research focuses on the d...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined for the fourth time by Patricio Muñoz, Ph. D. , associate professor of blueberry breeding and genomics and the Endowed Chair of Horticulture Crop Breeding at the University of Florida. When he’s not shaping the future of b...