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Drought causes southern Maine blueberry farm to close


Drought conditions are improving, but it’s too late for one southern Maine farm. According to our CBS13 news partners, Dragonfly Meadow Blueberry Farm’s bushes never produced this year, and it’s not the first time they’ve been hit by mother nature.

The farm has about 1,500 blueberry bushes. Due to this year’s drought conditions, farm owner Marc Worrell says almost all of his bushes never blossomed. He had to make the difficult decision of closing for the season.

“I do have a low spot on the property that stays wet all spring and one section of our field, maybe a couple hundred bushes, looks like it should look and 1,300 other bushes where it’s higher ground, where we’re standing right now, there’s no fruit, it’s like they all disappeared,” Worrell said.

Worrell says they can’t get a break. Last year their crops were destroyed by a major hail storm just three days before opening, and with the pandemic, very few customers came out to pick.

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