The Economic Impact of a Blueberry Packing Shed in Brantley County, Georgia

Poster

Brantley County, Georgia is experiencing a growth of new enterprise blueberries. Currently, the county has around 200 acres of rabbiteye blueberries and 40 acres of Southern High Bush blueberries. In 2004, Brantley County blueberries had a farm gate value of $985,605.20. Until the growing season of 2005, Brantley County farmers had to transport their berries to Alma, Georgia to have them graded and packed for marketing –

a round trip of 80 miles.

The Brantley County, Extension contacted The Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development of The University of Georgia about working with the growers about conducted a feasibility study to see if a packing facility could be justified for Brantley County.

After the competition of the study, Southern Blue Farms built and opened the first Blueberry Packing Facility in Brantley County in 2005. Currently they are running a fresh line and packing fresh berries for 10 of Brantley’s growers. All frozen berries are still transported to Alma.

A frozen line is planned for Southern Blue which would allow growers to pack all of their Blueberries in the County. This would save an 80 mile round trip and help improve the quality of the berries.