PLANT CITY, Fla. — For many families in the Tampa Bay area, spring means blueberry season. This year, a cold snap in February is delaying the harvest, leaving fewer berries on the bushes and impacting farmers' bottom line.
Clay Keel is the president of Keel Farms. He explained that the harvest is roughly two weeks behind schedule.
Keel explained, “It looks like we’re at least two weeks behind, but it does depend on the weather. Typically, 70-degree nights when we hit that number, everything starts ripening a lot faster.”
While there are ripe berries available now, there are fewer than usual, which could affect revenue during the first week of the festival.
“This first weekend of the blueberry festival we’re not going to be able to pick, and we’re going to do a massive Easter egg to make up for that, but obviously, we miss a whole day of you pick fruit and that revenue,” Keel said.
The blueberry festival takes place every weekend of April. For Abbie Denise and her family, it’s the highlight of the year.
“We come every year in April,” Denise said.
The family tradition combines supporting local farmers with spending quality time picking berries together. Her four-year-old son, Theo, is leading the charge because blueberries are his favorite fruit.
Theo said, “They taste like yummy!”
Despite the delay in the season, Denise said her family is not letting it stop them from visiting the farm.
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