Father and son from Georgia run high bush blueberry project on P.E.I.

A father and son from the state of Georgia run a 1000-acre ranch in Lorne Valley, P.E.I., where they are planting high bush blueberries — a rarity on the Island.

So far, more than 100 acres of high bush blueberries have been planted since May. Philip Jennings III and his son Phil Jennings IV, from Soperton, Georgia, in the United States, plan to continue planting up to a thousand acres in the next four years. 

The project has been several years in the making.

"There's been a lot of energy that's gone into this," said Jennings III. "There's been six years of intense research."

Wild blueberries are more commonly grown on P.E.I. The high bush blueberries grown by the Jennings family are a cultivated breed, which Jennings III said were developed naturally, without genetic modification.

The father and son split their time between the Island and Georgia, where they also grow a lot of crops.

A $20 million project

P.E.I. is an ideal location for the project because of the climate, Jennings III explained.

"We think this is a good island. We think the soils are conducive to berry production, given the fact you have thousands of acres of low bush on this island, the soils must be pretty good for high bush as well," he said.

Jennings III said he's investing about $20 million US into this project overall. They have not borrowed any Canadian money, he added. The project has received some grant money from the provincial government, but the amount makes up less than one per cent of the total investment, he said.

'We want to use as many local people as we can'

"Most people that come out can't believe what we've done," said Jennings III. "And they look, and they say 'There's no way you did this in the last two months!' And I said, 'Well, I didn't do a lot of the work.' My son and his team of people did a lot of the work and they have done a beautiful job. It looks good."

The Jennings' currently have 18 employees working on the farm, and they're all from P.E.I., with most of them coming from Montague.

"We have been very, very pleased with the quality of labour and the people at the jobs programs here on P.E.I. that has pointed us to the right places to be able to find help," said Jennings III.

The number of workers is expected to grow as they plant more blueberries. Eventually, he said they could be hiring upwards of 200 people in the future.

"We want to use as many local people as we can," he added.

Berries meant for the fresh market in Europe and the U.S.

The berry plants are still growing, and the Jennings' are waiting for the plants to grow up to four or five feet before exporting the berries. Eventually, each plant will be able to yield 10-12 pounds per plant, said Jennings III.

In an effort to make sure the plant is healthy and well-routed in the ground, they're going to focus on taking the fruit off for the first two years, and just produce a bush and a well-anchored plant in the meantime. The berries likely won't be ready for export for another couple of years, explained Jennings III.

Most of the blueberries won't be for consumption on the Island. They are meant for the fresh market in Europe and the United States, said Jennings III.

"We intend to freeze zero pounds of this fruit. This is all destined for the fresh market, whereas the wild blueberry is processed and put in the frozen market, our business model is fresh."

In it for the long haul

The father and son are happy to be on the Island, and Jennings III said they're grateful for the support they've received from the agriculture sector on P.E.I.

"There are a share of challenges whenever you're a foreigner and you come into a new country to do business," said Phil Jennings IV. "You have to figure out a lot of these things on the fly, but so far so good. We've been able to make very good business acquaintances and meet the right people on the Island."

Eventually, they also hope to plant some other crops that are not being grown on the Island currently, said Jennings IV.

They're in this for the long haul, explained Jennings III. 

"I hope I'm harvesting thirty years from now — thirty or forty — but I might not be, but hopefully my son will be."

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