by Dan Woolley
The wild blueberry industry may continue bumping along the price bottom for some time but there are indications of a price upswing in 2018. Barron Blois, president of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia (WBPANS), told attendees at the association’s annual general meeting in Truro on Nov. 17 that there are reasons for optimism following the three very large crops since 2014 that pushed the wild blueberry supply in storage ahead of market demand and depressed the price.

by George Fullerton
Participation in New Brunswick’s Nuisance Deer Management Assistance Program is up significantly this year, with the province issuing some 180 permits to kill “nuisance” female deer compared to 115 permits issued in 2016. According to Joe Kennedy, a deer biologist with the province’s energy and resource development (ERD) department, 51 deer were killed through the program in 2016.

by Emily Leeson
SomaDetect, a Fredericton startup company aimed at making herd health decisions easier for dairy producers, has received a major financial boost from south of the border. On Oct. 5, the six-person company won the 43North startup competition in Buffalo, N.Y. The grand prize is worth $1 million and includes the opportunity for the company to open a Buffalo office. SomaDetect is developing a sensor and software system to be used in the milk line.

by Emily Leeson
The cranberry harvest has wrapped up and Terra Beata Farms has fared much better than others in the industry. After 13 days in a row of harvesting, the Ernst family brought in more than 300,000 pounds of cranberries off their bogs on Heckmans Island in Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg County. That’s a higher yield than average. However, many cranberry producers elsewhere in Eastern Canada felt the effects of a dry summer.