Dothan Eagle - Roby Takes to Blueberry Field

News Article

By Courtney Gilley

Amid the rolling cotton and peanut fields of Alabama lies Harold Raley's 35-acre blueberry field, which was visited by Rep. Martha Roby on Tuesday.

Roby took to the field to help better understand the issues facing the farmers of Alabama.

"As part of the Agriculture Committee, it's important to take time to visit farmers, especially those growing specialty crops, like the blueberry," Roby said.

Raley took Roby on a tour of the Premier Blueberry Farm, from the fields themselves to the processing facility, which is also on site. Raley's farm is the largest in Alabama.

Raley pointed out the $250,000 mechanical blueberry picker, which is being used for the first year and took the place of manual labor in his fields.

"There are a lot of labor issues in the industry, and not everyone can afford to have a picker," said Greg Maddox, another Wiregrass blueberry farmer.

Maddox said that 50,000 pounds of product has been lost due to the labor issues.

In order to sell to large companies, blueberry farmers around the Wiregrass have to pool their produce together, according to blueberry farmer Wyatt Oates.

"No one is going to pay attention to you if you're one person going to sell a couple of thousand pounds. If you go in with some other people with a few million, they'll listen," Oates said.

The farmers around the Wiregrass don't directly sell to places like Wal-Mart, however. They sell to C.H. Robinson, a leading global third party logistics provider, who in turn sells to companies like Wal-Mart and Publix.

When asked how the taste of the blueberries fared when compared to other places where the blueberry industry is larger, Raley laughed.

"Walmart has asked if we put sugar on our blueberries. They're the sweetest out of any other berries they get," Raley said.

Roby was taken into the field itself and ate a blueberry right off the bush, agreeing that they were very good.

She continued to the processing facility, where Raley showed Roby how the blueberries move from the picker to a conveyor belt where the berries are sorted and removed of stems.

The tour was concluded with a brief discussion of the issues facing the farmers.

Another issue for the farmers is the new concerns with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval.

Agriculture commodities sold in the United States can meet certain quality standards as determined by the USDA. That used to be accepted by companies buying and selling the produce from farmers, but now some won't accept the USDA approval.

"We just want to know why. It doesn't make any sense," Raley said.

Roby said that she was not aware of this change, but would be sure to find out why.

"There's not a visit where I don't learn something new. With this new farm bill coming, I want to return armed with all the education and knowledge I need to represent and benefit Alabama farmers," Roby said.

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