Apr 29, 2011
Commission promotes Georgia blueberries

Georgia is a state known for peaches, pecans and onions. But if Joe Cornelius and the George Blueberry Commission (GBC) have anything to say about it, Georgia will become known for blueberries above all other states.

“Right now, we’re around number three in terms of production,” Cornelius said. “If the market keeps growing and can absorb the production we have coming and the potential for production we have, we could be number one shortly.”

While that claim might seem bold, Cornelius knows what he’s talking about. He’s the current chairman of GBC and a member of other advisory boards across the country for blueberry growers. He said there are roughly 400 blueberry growers in Georgia, with approximately 14,000 acres in production. There was a huge explosion of new growers and new plantings that started in the late 1990s, he said, and it hasn’t stopped yet. Cornelius feels that in the next five years, Georgia will have 20,000 to 22,000 acres of blueberries in full production.

“Just twenty years ago, if a grower was getting into blueberries and planted 20 or 30 acres, it was considered a huge investment in land and was a lot,” he said. “In the last ten years or so, what with all the good press blueberries have gotten and the demand, it isn’t uncommon for a grower to jump in with 100 acres.”

Cornelius first started growing blueberries in 1989. He currently has 180 acres and an additional 10 acres of blackberries.

GBC was formed in 2008 to help promote Georgia blueberries. In 2009, growers in the state passed an assessment that funds the commission. The majority of the money is used for promotions, such as the recent partnership with the Vidalia Onion Committee to share a two-minute infomercial that runs on all Delta Airlines flights. The rest of the funds are used for research. No member of the commission is paid for the work.

Cornelius said that so far, everything is looking very promising for the coming season. The crop looks to be very good for this year.

“There’s a lot more work to blueberries than most people think,” Cornelius said. “Some people think that you just plant them and come back in five years with your wheelbarrow to get your money. I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.”

By Derrek Sigler




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