The Business of Blueberries

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Tim Miles, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University, where he leads the Small Fruit and Hop Pathology Program. Miles’ research focuses on the diagnosis, epidemiology and management of diseases affecting small fruit crops, with particular emphasis on blueberries and hops. He works closely with growers and industry partners to develop practical, science-based solutions that improve crop health, sustainability and productivity.
“ That's probably the most impactful or rewarding thing at the end of the day, is actually diagnosing what someone has in their field and then delivering sound, science-based management recommendations to help manage that disease.” – Tim Miles, Ph.D.

Topics covered include:
An introduction to Miles and his work.
The process and threat posed by fungicide resistance, as well as practices and options producers can use to avoid its persistence.
The value of identifying specific plant pathology to target best practices and treatments.

Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Brittany Lee in Florida, Derrin Wheeler in Georgia, Luis Vegas in Peru, TJ Hafner in Oregon, Alan Schreiber in Washington, Pat Goin in Indiana and Sunny Brar in British Columbia. This was recorded on Feb. 5, 2026.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined for the fourth time by Patricio Muñoz, Ph.D., associate professor of blueberry breeding and genomics and the Endowed Chair of Horticulture Crop Breeding at the University of Florida. When he’s not shaping the future of blueberry breeding, Muñoz also serves on the USHBC Council as the alternate public member. He’s an experienced plant breeder with involvement in multiple crops and cultivar releases whose research focuses on creating cultivar development at a faster and more efficient pace. Muñoz also has a deep understanding of the berry global market.
“The products that we are developing now … are the ones that are going to come in 5 to 10 years from now, and in that moment we need to do even more differentiation … like how do you stack them with other traits? I mean, can you make them crunchy? Yes, we can. And you'll see them soon, hopefully. Can you make them larger? Yes, we can. Can you make them healthier? Yes. Can you make different colors? Yes.” – Patricio Muñoz, Ph.D.
Topics covered include:
An introduction to Muñoz and his work.
An exploration of the strategies and traits Muñoz and his breeding team focus on.
Muñoz’s perspective on global demand and emerging blueberry markets.

Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Mario Ramirez in Mexico and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on January 22, 2026.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), reflects on 2025 and shares some of the most impactful insights that emerged from the last season of the podcast. Common themes of interest over the last year include quality, genetics and global supply and demand.
“ What's not to be excited about the blueberry industry?... I mean everything that drives consumption in an agricultural commodity, blueberries has it. Convenience, health, snackability, flavor, fun, photogenic. It's an awesome category, commodity fruit to be a part of.” – Wade Jackson

“I think what's great about this industry is we have really passionate people that love what they do. Obviously, you know, you've brought a good young team in that really is trying to push this thing and convince all growers, it's the right direction to take. But I'm just most excited about the momentum we have.” – Greg Willems

Episodes covered:
Episode 199: Wade Jackson on Berry Genetics at Family Tree Farms
Episode 200: Farming, Finance and The Future With JC Clinard of Frutura
Episode 218: Berry Business Leadership: A Conversation With Garland Reiter Jr.
Episode 204: Developments in Blueberry Breeding With Paul Sandefur, Ph.D.
Episode 191: Blueberry Industry Growth Drivers: Part 2 With Hector Lujan
Episode 205: Innovation, Impact and International Growth: The IBO’s Mission With Mario Steta
Episode 206: From Data to Decisions: AI’s Role in Blueberry Success
Episode 197: The Impact of Genetics on Blueberry Quality With Greg Willems

Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Jaclyn Bennett, general manager at Parabug, a company that’s changing the game when it comes to pest management. We caught up with Bennett at The Blueberry Convention back in October. Founded in 2016, Parabug uses drone technology to enhance the efficiency and affordability of biological pest control for growers. She shares about how drone technology is being adopted in blueberry fields, the benefits growers are seeing and what’s next for innovation in this space.
“ What Parabug does is we apply beneficial insects with drones. So we have a proprietary mechanism that mounts to essentially an off-the-shelf ag drone. That mechanism is incredibly gentle for beneficial insects and allows for another avenue of integrated pest management to be economically viable to growers.” – Jaclyn Bennett

Topics covered include:
An introduction to Bennett and her work at Parabug.
An exploration of the innovative technology created by Parabug and the benefits it can provide in pest management for producers.
A glimpse into Parabug’s next innovation.

Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Mario Ramirez in Mexico and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on December 18, 2025.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Luis Vegas, general manager of Proarándanos, and Miguel Bentin, founder of Valle y Pampa. Vegas leads his organization’s efforts to represent and promote Peru’s blueberry industry worldwide, providing critical market data, industry insights and strategic direction for growers and exporters. Bentin serves as the general manager of the joint venture between Valle y Pampa, a Peruvian blueberry production and export company, and Family Tree Farms. He has extensive experience in fruit production and global markets, and shares firsthand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing growers.
 “I think 2023 was a wake-up call for all the industry. It was really a learning experience for all of us. … One of the things we learned was how the different varieties behaved under these conditions, and there was a clear difference between certain varieties.” – Luis Vegas

“ As Peru starts improving the average quality of the crop, we'll have more, as exporters, better opportunities in China, which is a very highly demanding market that establishes a big difference between premium fruit, what they consider premium fruit and regular fruit.” – Miguel Bentin

Topics covered include:
An introduction to Vegas and Bentin, and their work.
An exploration of Proarándanos global priorities and reach.
The impact weather has had on the Peruvian blueberry production over the past year.

Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on December 11, 2025.