There is little doubt that you picked the right crop to invest in for a profitable return. You can get a lot of good tips in the fruit forum to help you get started. I've been told that this is also one of the easiest crops to start as an organically grown crop. I think that with a little prior planning you can make it work.

There are some great Blueberry farms here in our state. We all love those blue beauties!
My next door neighbor planted with the intention of market in our area, but like many here - found there was no available and steady labor for picking - and had to let his work go.
I see that you are in Texas, and probably wouldn't have that sort of trouble being near immigrant farm labor. Another guy, in my rural entrepreneurship group just mentioned procuring machinery for such.
Good luck in your endeavor!
Glad

We bought 10 acres of a property that had been divided from a larger estate which contained around 50 blueberry plants. I got about 30 of them in my cut. I'm not sure when they were planted originally, but they had not been taken care of too well in recent years so it required cutting out mulberry trees that were trying to grow up through the middle of bushes, etc.
I went online and got info on blueberry culture, pruning etc. and we have been enjoying blueberries every year. I have been able to sell them at market for $3 /lb.
We have several blueberry farms about 20 mins to the North of us that have PYO operations and that is perhaps my biggest competition. I am a one-woman operation and do everything myself - all the gardening, and market set up and selling. I have a friend who likes to come and help me pick blueberries and still insists on paying me market price for them even tho' I try to insist a trade for her labor. Its nice to have a little company when it comes to picking time.

You could think about a PYO operation [pick your own] do your research on that too - you have to have insurance for people to come onto your property etc, but that could save you from having to do all the harvesting yourself.

When I went down this spring to prune, there was a LOT of dead stuff on my bushes this year. Even tho' the water table is higher down there we had drought conditions last year that made our pond lower than its ever been in the 4 years we've lived here. I figured that must have been what affected my blueberries too. I pruned them back the hardest I'd ever pruned and wondered if that would affect their yield this year but come May they were loaded with blooms so it looks like I will get a good crop this year. Last year a late frost affected a lot of the farms up north but mine were fine.

My advice to you in starting a blueberry farm would be to do research in growing blueberries, find varieties that will do well in your area, plant early, mid season and late varieties to extend your harvest, give them plenty of space in between for air circulation and in case you have to mow around them like I do. If you are planning to be a large commercial production, some varieties lend themselves better to machine harvest than others, ripening pretty much the same time so that could be important to know as well.
Blueberries like acid soil. I try to fertilize them in the spring with a fertilizer for acid loving plants.
I am not a commercial grower -just a market gardener - but I have found blueberries to be fairly easy care. They can get diseases and I've seen some mummyberry on mine but I've just kept pruning off the bad stuff and it hasn't really affected overall harvests that much. Here in my zone we usually can pick the entire month of July so altho' I have no idea what varieties were planted here, there is evidently more than one.

10 acres is a huge amount of space to allocate to a single crop. you'd almost certainly want to look into bulk prices in your area. Also,go scope out some of your local markets and see what kind of prices other people are charging in your area. then its just the question: do you want to make the quick wholesale dollars, or take your time with full retail price.

Depending upon your location in MI, there are several blueberry plantations of many more acres than just 10. You will have lots of competition in those areas. The last that I paid at one of the plantations was $1.30/lb, but that was 3 years ago. Now that plantations doesn't wholesale to the public, only retail. Last I noticed was $10/5 lb. Don't forget you will need the boxes or other supplies.

Marla

Hey Nicholas...great idea. I'm a little guy also. Consider going organic or advertise as "organically grown" to distinguish yourself from the rest. Where is your general location?
My plants are on their 3rd year and look great. I have
Duke, Draper, Bluejay, and am putting in BlueCrop and lots of Elliot.
Start small, build up your clientele, every couple years expand a little(or hopefully more).
I have been using spoiled round hay bales to smother out the weeds/nutrients/moisture control. Now am going over that with composted wood chips after a detailed weeding immediately around the plant to smother weeds etc.
Getting enough mulch is my #1 challenge. But then, I dont want to pay much...
Long term fertilization regimen remains a challenge as I haven't researched the cost comparisons of my organic options. I had used a fresh chicken poop/kelp tea when my numbers were small, but with 300-600 plants, I'd have to buy tysons!
Anyway, I did a fish emulsion (5-1-1) with mollases dilution for their immediate needs.
Or I could get some slow release osmochem and not worry about it, Na!
Check out MSU's sites, contact your local extension, space your varieties. Consider planting other fruits to broaden your customer base and make most effecient use of your space. Like pears on the north side, for example. Know what your doing though before deciding on anything.
Good Luck,
Noogy

If you put pears in, you won't have alot of old-time competition. Alot of the older pear trees have been bull-dozed, just when I want to find them.

How well do blackberries sell in Michigan? I have 2 acres of them and I get picked out every year down here in central Alabama. I would think you could sell them for a lot more, especially at FMs, than what you can get for blueberries up there. However, I will say they require a little more work than blueberry plants. Just a thought ...

Hope this helps,

Ken Barber
Millbrook AL

I wish I had 10 acres of land! I'd be thrilled to have an acre. But I would diversify, at least to a point. Maybe only fruit - apple, peach, apricot, cherry, etc. trees; Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, grapes. Miracle fruit.

I would also look into a dehydrator. Whatever fruit you harvest and don't sell, dehydrate. Later, mix it with other fruits and make a trail mix. You can even pick up stuff like bananas on sale throughout the year at a supermarket.

That's one of the reasons (that is, if it ever dries up!) I'm planting way more hot peppers than I could ever sell. Dehydrate, then mill them and make a hot pepper blend. At $3-5 per ounce, it should be a huge profit margin.

Each person has their own way but I would rather work consistently during most of the year instead of being crushed for a few weeks.

Food for thought.

Mike

What is the market price (wholesale)for blueberry's in 2015?

My wife and I have a small farm where we grow blueberries and pine trees. We have been selling our blueberries through a "pick your own" operation for over 10 years. We have kept it small but there is room for expansion and growth. Our farm is for sale to the right person or persons. Our pine trees are a constant source of mulch for the blueberry plants and we have a good source for water which we use for drip irrigation, The right person could do very well on this property with the blueberry sales. We've been thinking of some other ways of processing blueberries for sale. Our bushes are strong producers of excellent blueberries and we grow a variety here that is usually not grown in Texas.

Kenneth, where are you located? interested in more info. James

Hey guys, just trying to see if anyone had any information on blueberry seeds and how many i would need for 5 acres of land. I am looking for programed seeds that will yield crops for at least 50 years. If any one has any information or knows how where i would be able to find it please let me know, thanks

There is a possibility that you could start a few thousand blueberry plants from seeds but it just isn't the recommended procedure. Buy plants started from tissue culture by a reputable nursery and if you study up on how to care for young plants you could start with rooted starts for as low as $.50 per plant. You could lose many for the first few years if you don't handle properly.

Once you get plants large enough to produce fruit there are ongoing irrigation, mulching, pruning, fertilizing, pest control and then picking fruit requirements. You could keep a crop producing for many years if you can manage all aspects of crop needs.

Hi. I am planning the same thing, and found this web site that is excellent for starters. The prices are good, but you may be able to fine local nurseries with good prices and buy much less quantities. Here near Greensboro, N.C I found a nursery that will sell a minimum of 50 plants at whole sale price. https://bluegrassblueberries.com/small-farm-business-opportunity-how-to-