Fresh-Market Breakthroughs: The Next Wave of Genetics With Cort Brazelton

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), welcomes back Cort Brazelton of Fall Creek Farms and Nursery. A regular contributor to the podcast, Brazelton brings his characteristic energy and insights to the conversation, which covers recent changes at Fall Creek — including his decision to leave space for new leadership. Brazelton describes rapid global blueberry growth and a bimodal market where “better blueberries” command higher price floors, driven by genetics, execution and consistent quality at scale.

“This industry is changing fast… The stakes are higher, but the opportunities are bigger … the pressure to innovate is increasing. I find the best way to get our heads around that is to think about where we want to be in five to seven years… We need to make decisions to get us to that future state, and there's no better time than now.” – Cort Brazelton

Topics covered include:

• Recent changes at Fall Creek, including Brazelton’s decision to leave space for new leadership.
• The development of a bimodal market where “better blueberries” command significantly higher price floors, driven by genetics, execution and consistent quality at scale.
• How rising consumer discernment, category segmentation and farm economics (yield, harvest cost, price) will shape future innovation.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Liczy Sotomayor in Mexico. This was recorded on Oct. 8, 2026.