The Wild Blueberry Producers Association has had a Recognition Book since 1980, and each year a person(s) is recognized for their outstanding contribution to the wild blueberry industry. This year’s inductees were Jim and Judy Burgess and the following citation was read by Jeff Orr prior to the award presentation.

Once upon a time two young people named Judy and Jim met while raking wild blueberries. This is because Jim’s dad, Bob, hired Judy’s family to contract pick some of his fields. Jim and Judy fell in love and were married. For some reason, they chose to be married right in the middle of wild blueberry harvest time on August 21^st. So, this has meant that for the past 55 years, Judy and Jim have celebrated their anniversary by taking a load of wild blueberries to the receiving shed. What a beautiful romantic wild blueberry story.

Jim’s father, who was inducted into the Recognition Book for his trailblazing contribution to the industry, along with his partners, sold their holdings in Brookland Products, which was a significant wild blueberry operation, to Roy Hoeg and Keith Crowe in the 1960’s. Bob kept the home farm in Middle Musquodoboit and Jim and Judy helped with the farm. This 200-acre property with about 70 acres in wild blueberries remained the center of their operation.

Once Jim retired from the Department of Natural Resources in the mid 1990’s, Jim and Judy expanded their business, naming it Glenmore Farms. They acquired some additional fields and leased and managed others. Currently they farm about 200 acres of wild blueberries per year of their own and leased land and do some additional contract work for other growers. They also continue to tap maple trees for syrup and grow and sell Christmas trees.

Jim and Judy were early leaders in fresh fruit sales. They moved beyond the old-style winnowers in the late 1990s when they bought their first modern cleaning line. In four years, they had outgrown the barn housing this and in 2006 built a larger facility with three cleaning lines and secured HASAP certification including traceability functionality.

At their peak they had three 8 hour shifts a day and sold about 100,000 pounds of fresh product through Loblaws and other markets. It has since been reduced to one 8 hour shift a day. While only about 10% of their overall production, this fresh line diversified the farm income and served to increase the awareness of wild blueberries in this major urban market area.

Jim and Judy are big believers in pollination. Jim served on the joint pollination committee for many years and helped establish this important ongoing working relationship with beekeepers. They also were very mindful of the habitat surrounding their fields and established Christmas tree plantations around the edges of their fields. This innovative approach means that production goes right to the field edge and adds an additional source of revenue as well as serving as a great habitat for wild pollinators.

Jim and Judy have been very mindful of the importance of field specific treatments to their land. They are well known for small-scale backpack sprayer applications. They also were early adopters of placing softwood bark mulch in bare spots leading to quicker plant rhizome spread. Above ground irrigation, field drainage and land leveling are other strategies they have used to improve the land and its productivity.

Judy has played a key role in managing many aspects of the farm, including on farm logistics, bookkeeping, quality control and the store front and fresh pack. Their partnership in this farm business has allowed this multi-generation Burgess farm to give a lot to the development of the Musquodoboit Valley by employing up to 50 people in the harvest season. Their strong social conscience for others continues to have an impact on the economic and social well being of the region, as they demonstrate what can be done to add value to the land to support local community economic development.

WBPANS is pleased to recognize Judy and Jim Burgess and Glenmore farms for their inspirational leadership in entrepreneurial innovation, sustainable environmental and community economic development through their passion for wild blueberries.

The sons of Jim & Judy Burgess and some of their family posed for a photo following their Induction into the Blueberry Recognition Book. Back  (l to r)- Craig Burgess, Allyson Burgess, Todd Burgess, Lindsey Burgess, Janice Burgess, Melanie Leclerc, Peter Burgess. Front- Judy & Jim Burgess. (Linda Harrington Photo)

Even though we have provided several pages of coverage of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia’s annual general meeting towards the centre of this issue, the province’s two investments totaling $930,000 were not included.

On November 5^th Agriculture Minister Keith Colwell announced $650,000 over three years for research and development projects, including improved packaging. A second package including another $280,000 over two years will help fund the annual Wild Blueberry Solutions Challenge that encourages continuous development of value-added blueberry products.

Funding for these projects comes from the Building Tomorrow Fund, a three-year, $9-million provincial investment in agriculture, fishing and aquaculture, while the Wild Blueberry Solutions Challenge is a competition among Nova Scotia companies to develop innovative value-added products and packaging solutions. This is a joint initiative between the Department of Agriculture and the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia. Wild blueberries are Nova Scotia's largest agriculture export at $104.4 million in 2018.

The Wild Blueberry Solutions Challenge encourages continuous development of value-added blueberry products. The Wild Blueberry Solutions Challenge 2018 winners were Jus Nova Agriculture Ltd. and Fundy Drinks Ltd, both of Halifax. Jus Nova is developing a wild blueberry smoothie featuring plant-based protein. Fundy Drinks developed a wild blueberry sparkling water drink under their VIVEAU brand resulting in a blend of Nova Scotia wild blueberries and lightly carbonated mineral water.

VIVEAU is committed to supporting local growers and picking the highest quality fruit. The fresh fruit varieties are sourced from Nova Scotia orchards. Blueberries, cherries and apples are picked at the peak of ripeness to harness their pure, natural taste without added sugars, preservatives, or artificial flavours.

Research has shown compared to cultivated high bush blueberries, wild blueberries have 39% more healthy antioxidants per serving and over twice as many as strawberries or blackberries making wild blueberries one of the healthiest foods people can eat.

The Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia has tested new automated equipment using lasers to sort fresh wild blueberries. The pilot project at Millen Farms, Great Village represents new and ongoing research and development being supported by the province. Commenting on the project, Brandon Millen said, "This project enabled us to pack a better-quality fresh blueberry with reduced labour. This has enabled us to get real knowledge on whether this technology could work for wild blueberries."