Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc., a world-leading blueberry genetics and nursery company, has acquired Berryplant, an Italy-based leader in raspberry and blackberry nursery production, and Berrytech, its dedicated breeding and intellectual property company.

The acquisition strengthens Fall Creek's genetics platform with the addition of raspberries and blackberries while maintaining its global leadership in blueberries and extending the company's ability to serve growers who operate across multiple berry categories.

For more than 90 years, Frank Donio Inc. has been a cornerstone of New Jersey’s blueberry industry, building a reputation for quality, consistency and strong grower relationships. More than two decades ago, the company introduced its well-known Top Crop label to showcase fruit grown by its network of multigenerational family farms, and today blueberries packed under the brand continue seeing strong demand from retailers and consumers alike.

The New Jersey Blueberry Industry Advisory Council is happy to report, given the significant weather impacts to the entire northeast, that there will still be blues available for the 2026 crop year.

New Jersey grower Denny Doyle, who is the current chair of the council, is optimistic on how the berries were able to persevere through the recent freeze event in late April. Even though there is evident damage, the state should still produce 50-60 percent of what it typically yields. 

Despite a spring marked by unpredictable weather and freezing temperatures across parts of New Jersey, D’Ottavio Farms is entering the 2026 blueberry season optimistic about crop quality, sizing and long-term growth opportunities.

“This season started with some unusually cold weather for New Jersey,” said Mike D’Ottavio, president of D’Ottavio Farms. “A lot of growers experienced damage to peaches and blueberries after a couple cold mornings earlier in the spring.”

Despite a spring season marked by cooler temperatures and delayed crop development across New Jersey, The Freshwave Fruit & Produce and Consalo Family Farms remain optimistic about the outlook for their blueberry program in 2026.

Spring is here and summer is just ahead. That means California strawberries are on tap. California’s ideal climate produces 90 percent of the nation’s strawberries, yielding 1.8 billion pounds annually, and more organic strawberries are grown in California than anywhere in the world.