US government to buy wild blueberries to help prop up prices
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture will buy up to 30 million pounds of wild blueberries to help stabilize prices and supply in one of Maine’s signature industries.
The members of Maine’s congressional delegation told The Associated Press on Thursday that the agency will pay up to $13 million for the wild blueberries.
The bailout could help spell the end of low prices to consumers on wild blueberries, which are harvested commercially in Maine and Canada.
They differ from the fatter cultivated blueberries in that they are smaller, have a more intense taste and are richer in antioxidants. Maine is by far the biggest wild blueberry producing state in the country, and it also produces about a quarter of North America’s total blueberries, according to the University of Illinois’s website.
