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With Blueberries in Trouble, Maine Eyes Commission Overhaul

With Blueberries in Trouble, Maine Eyes Commission Overhaul

Photo: clipart.com


PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   Maine lawmakers might try to pump some life into the state’s troubled wild blueberry industry by overhauling the makeup of the commission that promotes the state’s most important fruit crop.

Maine is America’s producer of wild blueberries, which are smaller than the ubiquitous cultivated blueberries. They’re used in lots of frozen and processed products. Harvesters collected about 57 million pounds of the fruit in 2018, down nearly 11 million pounds from the previous year.

A legislative committee is considering a bill to expand the number of people who sit on the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine. It coordinates promotion, education, policy, research and development of the fruit. Supporters say the proposal could help the commission represent a broader cross section of the state’s wild blueberry industry.

It faces a Thursday vote.

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