Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) urged the House Agriculture Committee to support a resolution recognizing National Blueberry Month and the contributions of the blueberry industry. Pingree worked with the resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), on an amendment to ensure this resolution (H.Res. 271) also highlighted the importance of the wild blueberry industry—a mainstay and vital part of Maine’s way of life and the state’s economy. Click here to watch Congresswoman Pingree speak to the House Agriculture Committee. Both the amendment supporting wild blueberries and the resolution were unanimously adopted by the House Agriculture Committee. 

“I certainly enjoy cultivated blueberries and I’m pleased for all the states that do so well with them. We grow a few on our farm as well, but the importance in Maine is our wild blueberry crop,” said Pingree in her remarks to the House Agriculture Committee. “We have over 500 wild blueberry growers, and those businesses contributed an estimated $250 million to our economy in a small state of only 1.3 million people—so you can see how important this is to our agricultural sector.”

Pingree continued: “Wild blueberries are different, they’re cultivated in a different way, they have very high antioxidant properties, and they're a particularly great blueberry that needs to be alongside of all the cultivated blueberries that we're recognizing today.”

Pingree has advocated for Maine agriculture and wild blueberry producers through her role on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

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