Hammonton, New Jersey is known as the “Blueberry Capital of the World.” Since the 1980s, the Red, White and Blueberry Festival has celebrated Hammonton’s status as the nation’s blueberry capital. A 1300-acre farm there is considered to be the largest producer of blueberries in the Northeast.
Maine is the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world. Maine produces 10 percent of all blueberries in North America, including wild and cultivated production.
Top Blueberry Producing States
Most Blueberries Come from These 10 States:
- Washington – The highest blueberry producing state, with just over 96 million pounds in 2016.
What is the blueberry capital USA?
The state of Washington in the United States of America produces the most blueberries, followed by the states of Michigan, Georgia, Oregon, and New Jersey in that order.
In 2016 New Jersey’s blueberry yield was more than 43 million pounds and it was valued at $59.4 million. Every June, during peak season, “U-Pick” farms are crowded with families stocking up on giant blueberries.
Hammonton is the self-proclaimed “blueberry capital of the world,” with 56 blueberry farms located in and around the town of about 14,000 people. The best selection is the highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), our native species which is ideally suited to all three growth zones of the Garden State.
The Birth of the Blueberry Industry
Hammonton was one of the first places to start growing blueberries commercially. A woman named Elizabeth Coleman White, also known as the “Blueberry Queen,” is credited with the birth of the blueberry industry in this town. In 1911, White met botanist Frederick Coville, who was studying how to cultivate blueberries. Located in Atlantic County, the town of Hammonton is situated in the Pine Barrens where the soil is largely sandy…making it ideal for growing blueberries!
Before becoming the blueberry mecca of today, Hammonton was a rural town with a varied agriculture industry.
Hammonton is a town in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that has been referred to as the "Blueberry Capital of the World". As of 2020, the town’s population was 14,711.
The agricultural town of about 8,000 residents doubles in size during June and July for the blueberry harvest. In June at the beginning of the harvest, hundreds of Haitians come to Hammonton to pick blueberries, leaving their homes in Florida.