The Business of Blueberries

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 Bruce Popko , chief executive officer of Major League Pickleball. Popko discusses the growth of pickleball, the professional league that he leads, and why blueberries and pickleball belong on the same cou...

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 Steve Magami , co-founder and executive chair of AgroVision, a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper and marketer of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and table grapes. Recently having celebr...

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 David Jackson , founder of Family Tree Farms, alongside his sons and son-in-law. Today, they’re a family-owned fruit grower, packer and shipper based in Reedley, California, with additional locations in 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 Jorge Andres Varela , president of Agroberries. Agroberries is a vertically integrated berry producer and marketer with a large worldwide presence and a portfolio of exclusive proprietary genetic varietie...

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 Ryan Ellison , produce category manager at Food City, and Joshua Essenburg , category manager at SpartanNash. Both of these retailers participated in a panel at the Blueberry Summit in Savannah last fall...

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 USHBC Chair Shelly Hartmann . As lifelong residents of Southwest Michigan, Shelly and Dennis Hartmann are the owners of True Blue Farms in Grand Junction. Established in 1988, True Blue Farms has grown su...

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 Rachel Petraglia , culinary specialist for the fifth largest school nutrition program in the nation at the Georgia Department of Education. Petraglia spent almost 14 years working for the Gwinnett School...

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 David Krause , CEO of Frutura . Recently, this California-based fruit sales and marketing company announced it was acquiring two berry businesses: Sun Belle and Giddings Fruits. Before joining Frutura, Kr...

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 Chelsea Consalo, vice president of operations for Consalo Family Farms in New Jersey, and Ellie Norris, owner/manager of Norris Blueberry Farms in Oregon. Consalo is a fourth-generation producer and serve...

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 Chef Nate Weir , vice president of culinary at Modern Market Eatery and a champion of including blueberries on menus. After culinary school Weir worked in full-service, ingredient-driven restaurants in Bo...

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 NABC Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby . Houtby leads the NABC’s advocacy efforts and works closely with Monument Advocacy, the council’s Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm. She shares the cu...

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 David Magaña of Rabobank, who is responsible for covering and analyzing the U.S. and North American fresh fruit and vegetable industries. Tune in to learn about what’s happening with blueberry supply and...

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 Andres Armstrong , executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee, to discuss the current season in Chile, the impact of the drop in Peruvian production and the future of blueberries in the region....

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 Lisa Wasko DeVetter, Ph. D. , associate professor for small fruits at Washington State University’s (WSU) Mount Vernon Research Center. Since joining WSU in 2014, Devetter has developed a diverse research...

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 ), recaps the recent Blueberry Summit held in Savannah, Georgia, and highlights a couple of award-winning industry leaders. In this episode, we share the acceptance speeches of Ridley Bell who received the Duke Galletta...

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 Kevin Hamilton , vice president of global marketing for USHBC. Hamilton has over 20 years of marketing experience with a number of brands and commodities, and is bringing that expertise to the blueberry i...

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 Lisa Coleman, director of healthy living for Giant Food, which includes 166 supermarkets in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C. As the leader of Giant's Healthy Living Team of credentialed n...

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 Ross Peterson , the newly appointed director of finance at USHBC. Peterson explains how the USHBC is funded, the assessment process and some changes that are underway.  “I get to hear life experience...

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 Luis Vegas, general manager of Proarandanos, the Peruvian Blueberry Growers & Exporters Association. What started as a promising year for production in Peru has turned into an unpredictable reversal o...

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 Rod Borden and Ben Bowditch of Lunds & Byerlys . Borden is the director of produce and Bowditch is the produce category manager for the grocery retailer that has 28 stores in the Twin Cities and surro...

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 Amanda Griffin , our VP of Industry Engagement and Education and Dr. Jennifer McEntire, founder of Food Safety Strategies .  Amanda is leading our BerrySmart platform and helping us better address an...

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 Peter McPherson , general manager, Berry Category International, for Costa Group . For the first time in four years, the International Blueberry Organization was able to bring together blueberry industry...

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 Brandon Casteel , SPINS vice president of channel and retail partnerships, and Joe Vargas , USHBC/NABC director of business intelligence. Last year's attitudes and usage study found that growers and retai...

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 two blueberry growers who are also members of our USHBC BerrySmart Technology Task Force : Paul Macrie of Macrie Bros. Blueberry Farms and Noel Sakuma of Sakuma Brothers. One of the highlights of The Blue...

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 Brian Bocock , a Michigan blueberry grower and the vice president of product management at Naturipe Farms . Bocock also serves as vice chair of the USHBC Promotion Committee. We’ve made it an annual tradi...