Blueberries grow best in the country, with large areas of the Waikato being favourable. Bay of Plenty is generally less favourable, indicating that orchards located there may require some mitigation of unfavourable soil pH.

Blueberries can be grown on a variety of slopes but are best suited to flat or gently rolling whenua. This is to help with the access and operation of machinery.

Blueberries need a soil depth of at least 60cm to grow well. Their shallow root system absorbs nutrients and water in the upper soil layers.

Blueberries prefer acidic soil conditions which can impact nutrient availability.

For good blueberry growth and yields, various nutrients are required. This includes:

• Phosphorus - to stimulate root growth
• Potassium and sulphur - to contribute to the fruit yield and plant development
• Nitrogen - carefully managed to achieve high yields
• Boron, iron, magnesium, and zinc - in smaller quantities to produce premium fruit.

It's important to test your soils before planting your crop. Many companies offer this service. This will help you understand the current fertility of your block and nutrient requirements. The optimal soil pH is 4-5.

Soil safe Aotearoa

In Aotearoa, blueberries prefer a sheltered environment with warm summer temperatures to ripen the berries. They need cold winter temperatures of 1-7°C to enhance fruiting, but frost during and after flowering will cause damage to the fruit. Frost during flowering is a risk. Frost during flowering is a risk. There is a 10% fruit loss with frost at -1.5°C, and more than 50% loss with frost less than -7.5°C. September and October are risk periods for frost. Coastal areas of the Upper North Island and Northland may have insufficient chilling. A total of 950 hours less than 7°C between 1 May and 31 August is 95% suitable for a wide range of cultivars.

Learn more about blueberry growing temperatures.

Modelling the effect of climate change on land suitability for growing perennial crops

Blueberries are shallow-rooted plants and therefore require regular amounts of rainfall over the growing period. Too much rain at harvest time can lead to fruit rot, and too little rain over the summer season can affect the crop yield.

If you're thinking about growing blueberries on your whenua, check the rainfall and rain intensity in your region. This is important while your blueberries are ripening and during harvesting.

See NIWA for more information.

Blueberries are a perennial crop, meaning you will get one harvest every year for the productive life of the plant.

When planning to plant blueberries, you will need to consider your geographic location and the types of blueberry suited to this location. Different varieties of blueberry will grow better in different regions of the North and South Island due to their winter chill requirements.

For advice on what types of blueberries suit your whenua, talk to BlueberriesNZ.

BlueberriesNZ

In Aotearoa we grow three varieties of blueberry - rabbit-eye, southern high-bush, and northern highbush for different climatic conditions. Within these varieties are a number of different cultivars determined by their harvest season:

• Early season
• Mid season
• Late season

It is a good idea to grow a variety of cultivars on your whenua to extend your harvest season.

Plants must be ordered from a nursery some time in advance to allow time for successful propagation. They are usually supplied in autumn in small tubes and must then be planted out into larger bags or growing beds. The following autumn or winter they will be planted out into the orchard.

You may need machinery to prepare your whenua for planting if your whenua needs modification.

Blueberries will grow for three to five years before they're ready to be harvested (December - early April). When the colour of the fruit is deep blue, harvesting can begin.

Blueberries are picked continuously through the production season. How you harvest your blueberry crop depends on which market you are targeting. They can be hand-picked for fresh sales, machine picked for frozen market, or a pick-your-own model can be used to harvest the crop.

Whichever method you use, there is a very high labour requirement around harvest and packing time.

The blueberries must be harvested in hot, dry weather but should be kept immediately in the shade, transported as soon as possible to the packhouse, and chilled to maintain quality.

After harvesting your blueberry crop, the storage of the blueberries is very important. This ensures your crop can get to international and domestic markets in the best possible quality.

Packhouses will cool the berries down to 1°C, grade, and pack your crop before the blueberries are distributed into either the domestic market or exported overseas.

At all stages of the post-harvest process, blueberries must be handled with care to minimise damage.

Blueberry plants are relatively free of pests and diseases. They can be affected by the fungal disease Phytophthora (root rot) in wet soils, but birds are by far the biggest threat. You will need to consider using pest management methods, such as:

• bird prevention and scaring
• monitoring crops to assess plant health
• making the environment weed-free
• targeted use of fungicides and pesticides.

Blueberries NZ

Blueberries New Zealand represents 85 growers and 18 exporters. Export members of this group pay a voluntary levy to fund collective research into market access. The levy is calculated based on the amount of fruit sold.

There are several Māori blueberry collectives including:

• Miro (30 shareholders, all Māori entities, trusts, iwi and hapū across 12 orchards in the North Island growing 50 hectares of blueberries in tunnel houses)
• Hauiti Berries (4 hectares of blueberries in tunnel houses located just out of Uawa/Tolaga Bay)

Blueberries NZ

Miro

Hauiti Berries ahead of the pack

Export market

New Zealand produces 3,000 tonnes of blueberries from 640 hectares of land, currently earning $39 million in exports.

Māori blueberry producers, Miro and Hauiti Berries, both utilise Freshmax-owned BerryCo to take care of licensing, sales, and marketing on their behalf.

Scale

Blueberries can return a profit from a small or large-scale enterprise. The starting point for lower-tech tunnel houses is at least 1 hectare. Turning a profit from growing blueberries depends on several factors, like:

• your location - access to the market, or infrastructure, or to a packhouse
• your production practices - modern machinery and equipment or smaller scale efficiencies
• the market demand and access to the market
• your operational efficiencies - larger farms may benefit from economies of scale.

Equipment and infrastructure

There are various tools and equipment needed for growing and harvesting blueberries. These include:

• tunnel house (for example Haygrove Tunnel)
• driveways
• bore and pumping systems
• netting
• harvesting machinery
• grading and packing facilities
• cool store, and
• supplemental buildings.

The investment required upfront to set up a successful blueberry enterprise is high. For example, a completed tunnel house structure may cost around $500,000.

While plants will produce some berries after the first year, full production will not be reached until year 4.

It's estimated that you'll need to grow blueberries for at least 5 seasons until you return an annual net profit.

After harvesting your crop, you'll need cool store facilities to maintain their quality. You'll need to sort, grade, clean, and pack your blueberries, ready for the market. If you're located near a packhouse and can partner with them, they'll help you with this.

Jobs and people

Your people and labour requirements are seasonal, based on key milestones, like planting. You'll need a mixture of unskilled labour, as well as specialists. The specialists will help you with:

• managing the crop cycle,
• pest management techniques,
• harvesting and,
• post-harvest management.

The peak demand for labour and specialists by blueberry producers is during planting and harvesting times. It is estimated that you would need 3 people per hectare of blueberries.

Case study - Waikato blueberry farm

Here is an example of a blueberry farm in the Waikato, let's imagine it had 5 hectares of blueberries grown last year.

It yielded 60 tonnes of blueberries, bringing in a revenue of $1,500,000.

It had $1,017,125 in expenses, and the farm made a profit of $482,875.

It took 4 years to achieve full production of the blueberries.

Operational costs

The estimated operational costs to grow blueberries are around $203,425 per hectare per year. This depends on factors, like:

• scale of the operation
• level of mechanisation
• specific horticultural practices
• regional and locational factors
• market conditions.

Labour costs can be significant, especially when you're first setting up your farm. Some other examples of costs that you'll need to consider are:

• plants
• fertilisers
• pesticides and herbicides
• agrochemicals
• skilled and unskilled labour
• permits, licenses, or certifications
• compliance with regulations and food safety standards.

Costs

There are some costs you will need to consider, and these will change with the amount produced. Here are some examples:

Yield (and time to profit)

It typically takes several years to establish a sustainable and profitable operation. You should not expect to make an annual profit until around year 5.

Maximising the amount of good quality blueberries produced will increase the profits you earn. Factors that can contribute to higher blueberry yields include:

• crop management (and specifically heat and light conditions)
• variety selection
• planting density
• nutrient management
• weed control
• harvesting at the right time.

Revenue

Returns from blueberry farming are influenced by a variety of factors, including:

• market conditions
• yield
• quality
• production costs
• pricing strategies
• events beyond your control, for example weather conditions or market fluctuations.

Things that we can do to create better returns include:

• efficient practices to maximise yield and production.
• market demand and pricing
• quality and grading
• cost management
• storage and post-harvest handling
• value-added opportunities.

To help you make informed decisions and maximise returns, it's important for you to:

• stay informed about market trends through research.
• maintain good relationships with buyers.
• regularly assess your farm's production and financial performance through tracking costs.

Operating profit

To estimate your operating profit, you'll need to look at the amount of money generated from selling your blueberries, minus your production costs. There are factors that may affect your revenue and influence your farm's operating profit. These include:

• farm size or the size of your blueberry crop area
• yield - the quantity of blueberries sold
• market conditions and fluctuations
• production costs and efficient farming practices
• pricing strategies
• weather conditions.

You will need to consider your production costs, which can include:

• labour
• plant costs
• fertilisers
• irrigation
• pest and disease management
• machinery maintenance
• storage
• packaging
• marketing costs.

These costs can be affected by having efficient farming practices and effective cost management.

Each farm will have factors specific to them and different market dynamics. Keeping accurate records of your production and financial records can help you see where improvements could be made and increase your operating profit.

Australia is the key export market for New Zealand blueberries (87% of exports), followed by Vietnam and Taiwan. The authorities can provide information on what's needed to export blueberries, including:

• procedures
• documentation
• fees or licences
• packaging standards
• biosecurity requirements.

To export blueberries, you need to follow legislative requirements, including:

• paying voluntary levies to Blueberries New Zealand on the sale of your berries. Membership is paid in an initial registration fee followed by an annual levy calculated on fruit sold.
• meeting export requirements, like documentation and packaging standards
• ensuring food is grown so it can be sold under the Food Act 2014
• meeting regulations around risks to freshwater.

Some varieties of blueberry may have licencing costs or require royalty payments when the plants are purchased. You need to speak to your commercial nursery for advice.

You must comply with National Programme 1 requirements under the Food Act 2014. This includes:

• following safe food practices, like checking for pests and using clean water
• registering your business with either your local council or MPI
• getting your business verified.

Learn more about National Programme 1.

You will need a freshwater farm plan, either now or by 2025 if your whenua will have:

• 20 hectares or more of arable and/or pastoral use, or
• 5 hectares or more of horticultural use, or
• 20 hectares or more of combined uses.

These plans identify actions to manage and mitigate risks of on-farm activity to freshwater. They must be certified and audited, then recertified every 5 years.

Learn more about freshwater farm plans.

Some additional certifications and registrations may make your blueberries more appealing to buyers.

You can choose to get certified with New Zealand Good Agricultural Practice (NZGAP) for a yearly fee. Some retailers and wholesalers only take crops from an NZGAP-certified supply channel.

Learn more about NZGAP.