What Our Farmers Are Saying

"We farm in southwest Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan; we specialize in blueberries. This is not just a southeast U.S. problem, this is a Midwest problem, a U.S. problem."

Fred Leitz Leitz Farms LLC (MI)

"Our market prices have continued to fall year after year due to the direct impact of increased volume pouring into our market by the imported blueberries."

Michael Hill H&A Farms (FL)

"U.S. blueberries are ethically sourced, and domestic farmers adhere to higher food safety, labor, and environmental standards than exist in many of the foreign markets where imports are sourced. U.S. blueberry farms pay farmworkers more in an hour than they can make in a day in countries such as Peru and Mexico, which creates a price disparity that makes it difficult for American growers to compete."

Jerome Crosby Pineneedle Farms (GA)

"Despite all my best planning and forward thinking about my business model, I was in no way prepared for the huge onslaught of imports from Mexico and other countries of this magnitude. I fear how many pounds will be imported two years from now.”

Ryan Atwood Atwood Family Farms, H&A Farms (FL)

“There is no way that our farm can operate if imports continue at these levels. Oregon has already lost cultivation of raspberries and similar fruits, and I am afraid that blueberries are next. The future of the industry, Oregon’s family farms, and our rural communities that depend on them are at stake.”

Hugh Eisele Eisele Farms (OR)

“Falling prices have had an enormous negative impact on our ability to obtain a reasonable return on both fresh and frozen product even during our natural growing and harvesting period. With the increased volumes of imports from everywhere, there is no chance of expanding our market share further into the season, although we have the capability to do so.”

Shelly Hartmann True Blue Farms (MI)

"Simply put, my farm has been operating at a loss over the past few years. Despite being an experienced grower with strong production capacity, I cannot afford to buy new machinery or new varieties, or even maintain existing capital equipment. It is these imports that are causing our difficulties in Michigan, not other domestic producers.”

Rex Schultz Heritage Blueberries (MI)