We love blueberries too, however…

We need to have a little talk about blueberries.

Last month the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture shared a quart of promotional materials for a new book they endorsed, I Love Blueberries, by Shannon Anderson. After thorough vetting by your Promotion & Education staff here in Lansing, MFB chose not to share those materials or echo AFBF’s endorsement for the book, and here’s why:

In the book, young blueberry fans Jolie and Margot are so fond of the fruit they’re determined to raise their own supply, in the classroom, hydroponically. Thing is, commercial blueberry growers here in Michigan (and most other places) do it the old-fashioned way, harvesting zillions of delicious little blue spheres from bushes rooted in the dirt. 

And not just any old dirt, mind you — good blueberry ground isn’t found just anywhere. 

Michigan is among a handful of states blessed with just the right combination of soil, moisture and weather necessary for quality blueberry cultivation. That’s why we’re consistently in the running for the nation’s top producer alongside Georgia, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Oregon and Washington.

The blueberry bushes in those other states are all rooted in the soil as well. 

Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education program — especially its Ag in the Classroom component — is always on the lookout for what we call “ag-accurate” books for any age group, but I Love Blueberries doesn’t represent Michigan’s blueberry growers’ real-world practices.

That doesn’t make it a bad book — it isn’t. Schools statewide often use hydroponics systems in their classrooms to introduce plants, gardens and growing practices. Some agriscience programs use them to jump start spring planting or offer students year-round growing opportunities.

But promoting it as an ag-accurate teaching tool, suggesting it represents real-world growing practices, would do a disservice to our state’s commercial blueberry growers, including hundreds of Farm Bureau members.

While we’re on the subject, let’s also be clear that we’re also not knocking hydroponics. We have some outstanding hydroponic growers in Michigan who raise some commodities in that manner — including on a commercial scale — but not blueberries. 

For some sound resource materials on hydroponics, check out these resources from Michigan Agriculture in the Classroom.