HOLLAND, Mich. — After navigating record drought conditions last year, a longtime West Michigan blueberry farm is now battling relentless summer heat that could shorten this year’s U-pick season.
WATCH: Heat waves speed Michigan blueberry harvest, raising concerns over shorter U-pick season
Bowerman’s Blueberry Farm in Holland says high temperatures are accelerating the ripening process and forcing operational changes as workers try to protect both the crop and employees from extreme conditions.
“Every year presents new challenges,” said Andrew Van Til, operations manager at Bowerman’s. “Last year, we dealt with record droughts in Holland. This year, we’re dealing with consistent nonstop heat.”
The heat has prompted major adjustments to harvesting schedules. Machine picking is often moved to overnight hours.
“When it’s the middle of the day and the sun is beating down, we can’t pick with our machines,” Van Til said. “If it’s 90 degrees in the middle of the day, that berry is much more susceptible to bruising, much more susceptible to any kind of damage.”
Hand-picking crews are also working shorter shifts with additional precautions.
“Making sure they get lots of breaks, making sure that they’re hydrated," Van Til said.
Blueberries require heavy watering during extreme heat, and Van Til said the farm has increased irrigation.
“We’ll try to irrigate during the day to help cool that down, to keep the bushes cool,” he said. “But we lose a lot to evaporation when we do that.”
Because blueberries grow best in sandy, acidic soil that drains quickly, irrigation systems are running every four to five days, adding to operating expenses.
“Everything is coming from a well, but the electric pumps that it takes to run, those are very costly,” Van Til said.
The sustained heat is also speeding up the harvest itself, compressing what is normally a season-long operation into a much shorter time frame.
“We’re getting into the ripening stage, and we’re just seeing things move along really, really quickly,” Van Til said. “When it gets this hot, that stuff kind of condenses.”
He said the season could shrink from an all-summer event into “maybe a month, month and a half of really, really concentrated work.”
As a result, he's encouraging visitors to pick berries sooner rather than later.
“If you want to get out and get the biggest, sweetest, best berries, you’ve got to get on that really fast,” Van Til said. “If this heat continues, we don’t know how long this season will last.”
The farm is preparing to host its annual Blueberry Harvest Fest over the next two weekends, featuring live music, family activities and U-pick opportunities.
“It really celebrates peak harvest time for us here at Bowerman Blueberries,” Van Til said. “This is the time to pick Michigan blueberries.”
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