North Carolina produces an average of 40 to 50 million pounds of blueberries a year. Half of that production comes from Bladen County, where growers suffered a rare, unfortunate series of events. They first faced a severe early freeze.
“We also had a really severe hail event,” said North Carolina State University blueberry specialist Bill Cline. In early May, hail storms hit several southeastern counties, including Bladen. It was a critical time for the plants. “So some really large blueberry farms took a tremendous hit there on May the 7th. And it was what we hope was a once-in-a-lifetime hailstorm,” said Cline.
Wxii12.com reports that the economic impact on growers was significant. The impact on consumers: higher prices.