In this issue:
- From the Chair: Let’s Keep the Momentum Going
- Deputy Secretary of Ag to Speak to Blueberry Hill Climb Delegation
- Board Profile: Meet Brittany Lee
- Become a USDA Approved Vendor to Bid on Solicitations
- NABC Legislative Update
- We’re Welcoming New Members
- We Can Help Promote Your Industry Events!
From the Chair: Let’s Keep the Momentum Going
By Pat Goin
NABC Chair
With 2024 underway, I want to share my excitement about the year ahead for the blueberry industry! The NABC board and staff are laser focused on supporting the industry by providing members the latest information, resources and advocacy – ensuring our voices are heard in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
All of our efforts support the NABC mission of being the united voice, advocate and resource serving the interests of the highbush blueberry industry by:
- Eliminating trade barriers to ensure competitive global market access.
- Managing and communicating key issues.
- Delivering data such as seasonal crop reports, monthly cold storage figures and yearly production data.
- Representing the industry when critical issues arise.
What did we achieve in these areas in 2023 and what’s on tap for 2024? I’m glad you asked. Please take just a few minutes to watch the video above from NABC President Kasey Cronquist to get an excellent overview. Then, join me in keeping the blueberry momentum going by being an active, inspired, supportive member!
Deputy Secretary of Ag to Speak to Blueberry Hill Climb Delegation
It’s not every day that the blueberry industry gets the chance to hear directly from the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. But that’s exactly what participants in The Blueberry Hill Climb, Jan. 29-31 in Washington, D.C., will experience as they hear from Secretary Xochitl Torres Small during a Jan. 30 keynote.
This keynote session is the industry’s chance to learn directly from the secretary and make a new, valuable connection. And that’s just part of the Hill Climb experience. We’ll also meet with policymakers, network with congressional staff and make new friends in the blueberry industry.
We are looking forward to a great event in D.C. next week and can’t wait to share a full recap of our efforts on Capitol Hill.
Board Profile: Meet Brittany Lee
This month’s NABC Board Spotlight features Brittany Lee, Vice President of Florida Blue Farms
Before working in the blueberry industry, I worked for my family’s rural ag real estate development company. What is now our farm had been a project that we had subdivided and sold into several individual tracts. Leading up to the 2008 collapse of the real estate market, several properties came back into our possession, some of which was a large portion of our current blueberry farm.
In conjunction with the development business, our family had been actively managing silviculture for years, and the farm was all in planted pine. We made a decision to convert the pine into something more commercially intensive, keeping the project in agriculture. I was tasked with identifying the next best use for the property, and that is how our blueberry farm came into existence.
I love agriculture and I love being in an industry that provides a safe and healthy food source for consumers. There is something beautiful and satisfying about being able to harvest the literal fruits of my labor.
I take great pride in the legacy that I am leaving for the next generation of my family. Between my siblings and myself, we have eight children amongst us, and building a business they can one day be involved in is deeply gratifying. I also enjoy the opportunity to educate consumers of all ages. We host groups ranging from second graders to collegians to business people and retirees. I find each group to be eager to learn and understand the process from grow to harvest. Our country was built on the foundation of agriculture, but over the decades we have, in large part, lost the understanding and connection to what it takes to feed our nation. I always jump at the opportunity to educate people on what it takes to produce blueberries, and the great attention to sustainability and conservation practices our industry engages in.
As a board member, I’m looking forward to continuing to advocate for the Southeast grower. NABC is poised to lobby not just for the greater international blueberry industry at the federal level, but also to identify programs and opportunities for domestic growers, including but not limited to research funding, improved school nutrition programs and increased Farm Bill resources.
If I wasn’t in the blueberry business (or rural ag land sales), I would probably be doing something in advocacy or even politics. I’ve always loved politics, lobbying and event planning, so most likely I’d find myself doing something in those arenas.
Become a USDA Approved Vendor to Bid on Solicitations
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases a variety of domestically produced and processed commodity food products. The high-quality products purchased by USDA, collectively called USDA Foods, are delivered to schools, food banks and households in communities across the country, and are a vital component of our nation’s food safety net.
Both the NABC and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) are working to ensure that the USDA is a reliable market for U.S. blueberries. In fact, the NABC Procurement Task Force is charged with reviewing inventory levels throughout the year to determine how much supply is available to sell to USDA. For example, based on the task force’s analysis, in 2023, the NABC secured an ad hoc purchase of $25 million, about 17 million pounds, of frozen blueberries to move surplus product from traditional market channels and stabilize pricing. NABC is also working collaboratively with the USHBC to expand the Blueberry Data and Insights Center, which will help inform future USDA purchase requests.
USDA is an important customer for U.S. blueberries. To take part in this program and be able to bid on USDA solicitations, you must become an approved vendor. A variety of resources – from videos to webinars to checklists – are available to help you through the application process.
The start of the new year is the perfect time to begin the approval process! Learn more here.
NABC Legislative Update
New Grocery Benefit for Kids Announced
The USDA recently announced that 35 states, all U.S. territories and four Native American Tribes will launch a new, permanent summer grocery benefits program for children known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer in summer 2024. The program will benefit nearly 21 million children and provide nearly $2.5 billion in grocery benefits.
Summer EBT can help reduce child hunger during the summer months when school lunch programs are not available. Previous demonstration projects have shown that children in households receiving SNAP or WIC benefits ate more fruits, vegetables and whole grains than households that did not receive any benefit. Summer is also the perfect time to highlight National Blueberry Month and encourage more consumption by all.
Under the new USDA program, states will provide families with $120 per eligible child for the summer to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets or other authorized retailers – similar to how SNAP benefits are used. Participating tribes will provide a benefit of the same amount that can be used to buy food at WIC-authorized retailers. Learn more about the program, participating states and more here.
We Can Help Promote Your Industry Event!
If you’re hosting a blueberry industry event, we’d love to help promote it in this newsletter! Email Kristy Babb at [email protected] with all the details and we’ll include it in our next issue.
