Certified Organic Wild Blueberry Orders Taking Off

News Release: May 12, 2006

A recent decision by a major nationally-known food chain has major potential for certified organic wild blueberry producers in Atlantic Canada.

The firm has placed an order for up to 100,000 pounds of quality certified wild blueberries with a partnership located near Middle Musquodoboit, N.S.

A.C.O.R.N. member, Orv Pulsifer of McFetridge Farm, in association with Jim Burgess of Glenmore Industries Ltd. have been working since 2001 to develop a certified organic wild blueberry industry.

“Yes, we have to admit, it’s been a challenge,” says Pulsifer. “It’s been a chicken-and-egg puzzle. Potential growers have hesitated to commit to organic wild blueberry production because there was no marketing vehicle or brokerage tailored to handle the product. So there was very little product available, and that’s still the case today.”

Now in their fifth year of developing the industry, Burgess and Pulsifer have seen their volume triple. But it’s still only a few tons a year. “Demand has consistently outstripped supply, and it will be that way for years to come” says Pulsifer. “But this latest commitment is a tremendous step forward,” he notes.

The notice of intention from this national firm is a multi-year development. “This firm has simply said to us: ‘Gentlemen, you will never have an industry if major buyers don’t support you. So that’s what we’re going to do!’”

Pulsifer feels it’s an excellent combination. “This order is based in large part on the fact that Glenmore Industries’ state-of-the-art processing and packaging plant, which opened in 2005, is HACCP compliant. So it meets a world standard.

“The days of processing food like wild blueberries - or any food for that matter - by sweeping out the barn floor and putting in tables and chairs is long gone. Jim’s plant here in Musquodoboit is a major multi-hundred –thousand dollar investment and his staff, operating 24/7 in season, receives specific operational training in HACCP standards and requirements.

“ I guess we were the first to realize that someone had to build a professional handling and brokerage system with this product and that’s what we’ve done. Certified organic wild blueberry growers on Canada’s east coast have quite small fields on average. It’s been impossible for them to market very far beyond the farm gate. We’ve been working to overcome that handicap,” says Pulsifer. “Major buyers want volume and state-of-the-art production every step of the way. They also want to order via one phone call, not thirty or forty!”

Both Burgess and Pulsifer see the certified organic wild blueberry business following the growth patterns of the past. “Eastern Canada’s non-organic wild blueberry industry has exported tens of millions of pounds a year for decades. It’ll be the same eventually with organic,” says Pulsifer. “I’ve been getting calls from Ontario, Alberta, Pennsylvania, California and as far away as Denmark and Germany - even Australia…they’re usually about 3 a.m.!”

“It will still be growing long after I’m gone!,” he says, with a wistful smile. “But today we need more growers! Fast. You can’t sell from an empty wagon.”

Contacts:

Orv Pulsifer
McFetridge Farm
Phone 902-673-2471
Fax 902-673-2215
email: pulsifer@ns.sympatico.ca

Jim Burgess
Glenmore Industries Ltd.
Phone 902-384-2734
Fax 902-384-2996
email: j.j.burgess@ns.sympatico.ca