Frost strikes blueberry farms following 3 down years

Blueberry growers on P.E.I. are assessing the damage from a hard frost that struck across the Maritime region on Monday.

Temperatures fell well below freezing in parts of P.E.l.

"I'm looking at quite a bit of damage. I'm estimating at least over 60 per cent damage at this point," said John Handrahan, who grows 38 hectares of blueberries in Prince County, and is a spokesman for the P.E.I. Wild Blueberry Growers Association.

The frost has damaged blueberry blossoms, said Handrahan, and came at a particularly bad time. Warm weather at the end of last week pushed the development of blossoms, but they had not been pollinated yet, which makes them more frost tolerant.

The frost also came in a bad year. Prices have been particularly low for the last three years.

"Regardless of what the price of the crop will end up being returns for my farm will be down dramatically," said Handrahan.

"It will be another year of losses."

It could be another two weeks before the extent of the damage is fully assessed, says the blueberry association.

Some farms are reporting extensive damage, while others appear to have been spared. The extent of frost can vary significantly depending on the particular geography of a field.

More P.E.I. news