Nova Scotia’s blueberry industry says it will need financial assistance from the government if it is expected to rebound in 2026 after last year’s devastating drought.
This past summer, a lack of rain and drought conditions curbed the province’s blueberry output by more than 50 per cent compared to previous years.
Cumberland County and Parrsboro were the regions hit hardest, driven by lack of rain, which produced conditions that drastically increased prices on the popular fruit.
The Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia (WBPANS) is hopeful that prices can rebound in 2026, but notes there will be challenges heading into the new year.
“We are still seeing strong demand in Europe and the U.S., which are our biggest export markets,” Janette McDonald, executive director of WBPANS, says. “So given those signals, we are hopeful that pricing will stay strong for 2026 but we just need the crop to be there.”
McDonald says the industry is still in need of financial support following this past year’s drought conditions. She adds the WBPANS has waived its levies in order to help blueberry growers, and the organization tossed in $100,000 to support crop insurance premiums for its members.
The province, she says, has also matched that contribution, but many growers still require further support.
“There are some farms that were just so hard hit in the province that, even with crop insurance and figure stability, they are still facing significant losses,” McDonald says. “We really would welcome financial support from the government and we know that that’s a tough request to put forward.”
She adds, even with additional support from the government, the blueberry industry in Nova Scotia will face perhaps its biggest challenge as it heads into the next growing season: uncertain weather.
“For 2026, we are hoping that the weather works out in our favour this year,” she says, adding a more consistent, steady base of snow cover would help farmers heading into the blueberry season. “But there’s still some unknowns in terms of what plant health is looking like from the drought in 2025.”