Wild Blueberries
Our Individually quick frozen (IQF) Wild Blueberries are prepared from sound, ripe, fresh fruit of the native blueberry bush (Vaccinium Angustifolium) that have been cleaned, de-stemmed, washed, sorted and frozen by the IQF method.
Farm
We own and farm over 24,000 acres of Wild Blueberry land. This truly makes us the largest fruit farm in the world!
Our farming Operations, Bragg Lumber Company in Atlantic Canada and Cherryfield Foods Farm in the United States are responsible for Field and Farm management.
Even in the field, innovation threads its way through all aspects of the business. From partnering with industry associates on designing mechanical harvesters to leading Wild Blueberry research, no aspect of farm management goes untouched. We employ sophisticated ICM practices, extensive inground irrigation, and even own two apiaries in Atlantic Canada to ensure optimal pollination....all these practices are designed to ensure the best possible fruit makes it to you, our customer, and that we always maintain security of supply.
Wild Blueberries are a bi-annual crop. The fruit buds form in the fall and must survive our cold winter to flower and form fruit in the next spring and summer. A good deep snow cover is crucial to protect the fruit buds from freezing. You can see the tiny fruit buds on the Wild Blueberry stems. These buds must get covered with snow to protect them from freezing. If they freeze, they will not produce blossoms or fruit the next spring.
Wild Blueberries are just that...wild. This is a typical scene of Wild Blueberry fields in Nova Scotia. In the spring, these fields are full of blossoms, waiting for pollination.
Wild Blueberry blossoms. It is hard to believe that a blossom that white, turns into our beloved Wild Blueberry.
Optimal pollination is required to get high fruit volumes. There is a short window of 10-12 days for pollination. Through an extensive pollination program, we ensure our fields are pollinated. We own two apiaries in Atlantic Canada and we employ an extensive network of apiaries in Canada and the U.S. to ensure company and grower fields get pollinated on time.
Fruit forms and begins to ripen in late July. Gone are the white fields of blossoms, changing to a deep blue colour at harvest time.
To ensure the Wild Blueberries have the best growing conditions, we have permanent inground irrigation in over 9000 acres of land. This water is sustainably brought from wells, rather than lakes or rivers, to reduce impact on the environment, maintaining the balance between nature and our fields.
Now ripe on the vine, the fruit is ready for harvest. Harvest typically begins the second week of August and continues into mid September. There are many different micro-climates on the East Coast of Canada and the U.S., making the fruit ripen at different locations at different times.
The Bragg Harvester is the standard for Wild Blueberry picking. Fleets of company and grower Harvesters ensure that thousands of acres of Wild Blueberries get harvested on time and make it to the processing facilities within hours of picking. We have a strong discipline which controls the harvest to ensure freezing within hours of harvest.
Like many plants and trees in the fall, Wild Blueberry leaves turn a beautiful red colour. By late September, the view of many red fields is breathtaking.
Fields that were harvested are pruned by mowing the plants down. This picture shows the variation in height after mowing. These fields will have new growth next spring and will develop fruit buds, which will winter over and be harvested the following spring....beginning a new bi-annual cycle.
Did You Know?
Wild blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity per serving, compared with more than 20 other fruits.
