The Business of Blueberries – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

The Business of Blueberries

U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

Arts

Business

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/9d. Total Eps: 200

The blueberry industry is like no other: passionate, resilient, and innovative. This podcast is your source for the latest information on the production, markets, research and technology related to the blueberry value chain. This is the Business of Blueberries.

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - food
03/04/2026
#83
🇨🇦 Canada - food
02/04/2026
#62
🇬🇧 Great Britain - food
06/03/2026
#82
🇬🇧 Great Britain - food
05/03/2026
#47
🇨🇦 Canada - food
25/02/2026
#88
🇨🇦 Canada - food
24/02/2026
#70
🇨🇦 Canada - food
23/02/2026
#43
🇬🇧 Great Britain - food
01/12/2025
#98
🇨🇦 Canada - food
31/10/2025
#99
🇨🇦 Canada - food
30/10/2025
#81

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

https://ushbc.blueberry.org
106 shares
https://nabc.blueberry.org
95 shares
https://ushbc.blueberry.org/you-are-leaving/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blueberryevents.org%2F
7 shares

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-MAiKsOWoM
1 share
https://youtu.be/pprBDbG7V5k
1 share
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QhOnLbTJHU
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 68%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

Investing in a More Profitable Future With Brad Moorer of MBG Marketing

Season 1 · Episode 179

Friday, September 13, 2024 • Duration 46:29

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by MBG Marketing CEO Brad Moorer. MBG Marketing is a producer-owned blueberry and blackberry cooperative that was formed in 1936 as the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association. They have since expanded their membership to several other states, and today have over 200 growers, making them the largest marketer of fresh and processed, cultivated blueberries in North America. Moorer has previously joined our podcast on episode 108 and episode 109. He returns now to talk about leadership, marketing and his views on where the industry is headed and where it needs to go.

“We have the data today to manage more effectively than we did in the past and that certainly helped drive improved results on both the sales side and the expense management side. But we have had this headwind of inflationary environment that we've been operating in, and I think we'll all be glad to see if that ever goes back to more of a normal or at least a consistency where we could plan. … This is a long-term business, and you've gotta take that horizon when you get emotional about what's going on in the short term.” – Brad Moorer

Topics covered include:

An introduction to Moorer and his work.
An exploration of the progress and market expansion MBG Marketing has provided Michigan Growers.
A look at the new research agreement between Berry Blue (an MBG Marketing company) and the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from T.J. Hafner in Oregon and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on September 5, 2024.

Read moreCollapse

Strategies for Blueberry Disease Management With MSU's Tim Miles

Season 1 · Episode 178

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 • Duration 31:07

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Michigan State University Associate Professor Tim Miles and NABC Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby.. Miles is an associate professor in the Small Fruit and Hop Pathology Laboratory who has teamed up with researchers across the U.S. to study the management of anthracnose and botritus fruit rot in blueberries. Houtby works closely with the NABC Government Affairs Committee, and is also focused on funding and technical assistance opportunities for projects that improve blueberry production and market access.

“I'd love to improve fruit quality and improve shelf life and improve some of the environmental aspects of growing blueberries. We do have a lot of really great tools and synthetic pesticides that we've been working on for a long time, and there's been a lot of innovation in bio fungicides.” – Tim Miles

Topics covered include:

An introduction to Miles and Houtby.
A discussion of the projects Miles has organized and contributed to, and how they impact the blueberry industry.
An exploration of a project dubbed “BLUE DYNAMO,” and what it offers producers and researchers as far as opportunities to collaborate and integrate new protocols.

Crop Report

A BerrySmart Update With Steve Mantle

Season 1 · Episode 170

Friday, May 24, 2024 • Duration 32:48

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined again by Steve Mantle of Innov8 Ag and the BerrySmartProject. We previously heard from Mantle in episodes 44, 100 and 133. He joins us in this episode to share the latest details on the BerrySmart project, his insights on harvest automation and what the future holds for his work with blueberries.

“The focus really was to bring together the growers, the researchers and the tech providers to help with optimizing blueberry farming operations, with a focus on soils, nutrients, yield, distribution, weather, chemicals, nutrients and, all importantly, labor. … And, so, weaving that together is the journey.” - Steve Mantle

Topics covered include:

The latest and greatest on the BerrySmartProject and the benefits it’s providing to blueberry producers industrywide.
Advances in leaf sampling for evaluating the health, nutrients and mineral availability present in both new and old plant growth.
Mantle’s insights on harvest innovations.

Crop Report

Developing Industry Leadership with Ashlee Sikorski

Season 1 · Episode 81

Thursday, January 13, 2022 • Duration 27:28

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Ashlee Sikorski, team development coach at Sway Leadership, to discuss leadership development in the blueberry industry.

“If you have 10 people at your company putting in an extra 10%, then you have a whole, full employee that isn’t even coming out of your budget. I think people who show up and are satisfied with their work and they’re happy to be there, they’re doing a job that suits who they are.” - Ashlee Sikorski

“Old leadership styles are top down … there’s no collaboration happening with the staff … if you want [culture to be more long lasting], you’re going to be bringing your staff into it and then having higher retention.” - Ashlee Sikorski

Topics covered include:

Sikorski’s experience in professional development and how she ended up at Sway Leadership.
The importance of empowering employees and developing self-leadership.
Developing a culture and getting buy-in from staff.
What an “enneagram” is and how it can help identify archetypes in the workplace.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Andres Armstrong in Chile, Luis Vegas in Peru, and Mario Ramírez in Mexico. This was recorded on January 12, 2022.

Marketing Boost

This March, USHBC will kick off its first power period of 2022 by leveraging National Nutrition Month®, an annual nutrition education campaign created and developed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In this week’s Marketing Boost, USHBC/NABC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Sparks discusses the upcoming month and the USHBC’s .

Cort Brazelton and Working Together with the IBO

Season 1 · Episode 80

Thursday, January 6, 2022 • Duration 33:24

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Cort Brazelton, co-CEO of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, to discuss the latest International Blueberry Organization (IBO) State of the Industry report and the future of global blueberry production.

“If the IBO is going to create more value in the future, we need a strong partnership with the USHBC, because no organization in the world is carrying the weight like the U.S. council. It’s as simple as that.” - Cort Brazelton

“To get more share of the stomach, we don’t just do it through fresh, we get our product into more foods people eat. But to do that, the market – the buying side – has to have confidence, availability, consistency in pricing and getting the type of product they want. ” - Cort Brazelton

Topics covered include:

Overview and function of the IBO State of the Industry report, now free to all.
Importance of meeting in person and collaborating.
IBO’s role in contextualizing the global blueberry business.
How having reliable and easily accessible data can help growing and production decisions.

Crop Report

Marketing Boost

Both strategy and tactics play a key role in executing a program. In this week’s Marketing Boost, USHBC/NABC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Sparks discusses the importance of proper planning as the New Year kicks off.

Holiday Greetings & Spring Meetings Preview With Ken Patterson

Season 1 · Episode 79

Wednesday, December 29, 2021 • Duration 20:40

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Ken Patterson, NABC chair and co-owner of Island Grove Ag Products, to offer some holiday greetings and preview the upcoming NABC/USHBC Spring Meetings in Tampa, Florida, in early March.

“I wanted to be on the forefront of understanding where this industry was going to go and help however I can to push it in that direction.” - Ken Patterson

“You develop relationships and that’s what this business is about … there’s nothing like shaking somebody’s hand, looking them in the eye and talking about blueberries.” - Ken Patterson

Topics include:

Patterson’s extensive experience in the blueberry industry and what has changed since he started.
The role Florida has in kicking off the domestic blueberry growing season.
Why and how Patterson got involved in NABC and his impact on NABC’s policy positions.
A preview of the upcoming Spring Meetings and what to expect if you’re attending in Tampa.

The 2022 Spring Meetings will take place on March 1-4 in Tampa, Florida. Registration will open in early January.

Marketing Boost

Since launching Grab a Boost of Blue in early 2021, USHBC has centered its promotional programming around this motivating call to action and worked with many in our industry to use it in their marketing as a rallying cry for consumers to buy more blueberries. In this week’s Marketing Boost, USHBC/NABC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Sparks details the hard work and collaboration that has led to an exciting milestone to cap off year one of Grab a Boost of Blue: It’s now being featured on blueberry packaging!

Flooding in the Pacific Northwest

Season 1 · Episode 78

Wednesday, December 22, 2021 • Duration 13:52

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by three blueberry growers in the Pacific Northwest to discuss the unprecedented and catastrophic flooding in areas of British Columbia and Washington state.

Growers interviewed include:

Steve Phillips of Berryhill Foods in British Columbia, Canada.
Jason Smith of Fraser Berry Farms, also in British Columbia.
Bryan Sakuma of Sakuma Farms in Washington.

Each details their experience with the floods and how it affected their growing operations and communities at large.

Each grower details their experience with the floods and how it affected their growing operations and their communities at large.

Check out our podcast page for all recent episodes. Know someone who’d be interested in this podcast? Please forward this email and encourage them to sign up to receive live updates when new episodes are released.

The Business of Blueberries – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

The Business of Blueberries – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

LinkedIn64

Youtube5

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

LinkedIn64

Youtube5

Apple Podcasts

Spotify