"Too much rain at harvest can damage blueberries and ruin a crop," said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler in a news release. "Fortunately, the weather is cooperating and we are seeing some of the highest yields and best-tasting berries we've had in years."
North Carolina's production of 48.5 million pounds of blueberries last year was a record for the state, said Brian Long, a spokesman for N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The crop put North Carolina seventh among the states in the production of cultivated blueberries, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Washington was No. 1 in 2014, followed by Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, New Jersey and California.
Maine is the leading producer of wild blueberries.
About 75 percent of North Carolina's crop is sold to grocery stores, farmers markets and roadside stands, including those in Currituck County on the way to the Outer Banks.
