Berry expert eyes new field: retirement

ADDISON – After 52 years working at Blueberry Hill, the University of Maine’s research farm for wild blueberries, Delmont Emerson was ready to call it a career Jan. 1 – the day he turned 70. He has served as farm manager since 1976.

But instead of a retirement dinner in late December, Emerson got a visit just after Christmas from one of the UM assistant deans. He was asked to set back his plans until the university can put a new farm manager in place in February.

Replacing “Dell” Emerson isn’t easy, after all. Few in the industry possess the knowledge the farm manager has acquired over five decades. Research breakthroughs since the 1970s – many off the Jonesboro farm – have resulted in the tripling of Maine’s blueberry production to an annual average yield of 65 million pounds.

The search committee won’t start its interviews until later this month. Then Emerson will have to show the new manager around the facility along U.S. Route 1 in Jonesboro.

Emerson already has given the industry two more years than he intended. He had wanted to retire after 50 years, but agreed to stay on after the university decided to build a $700,000 research station to replace the old structure dating from 1945. The original station was leveled last month to make room for the new laboratory, expected to be completed by July 30.

By then, Emerson will be busy with his own blueberry crop, plus those of other growers in the area who have asked him to consult with them this coming season. Just Friday, an old friend with fields in Meddybemps spent an hour at Emerson’s home in Addison, asking for advice.

Blueberry Hill is located in the heart of Washington County, where more than 70 percent of Maine’s blueberries are grown. But Emerson has come to know hundreds of growers between Nova Scotia and New Hampshire.

Emerson joined Blueberry Hill back in 1953 as an 18-year-old who worked summers at the research station. Back then, he kept records for Dr. Merle Hilborn, an early researcher.

Emerson said he will miss the work but not the blueberry industry’s politics.

Last January, representatives from Maine’s three largest processing companies called for Emerson’s removal. Cherryfield Foods Inc., Jasper Wyman & Son of Milbridge and Allen’s Blueberry Freezer of Ellsworth officials criticized Emerson for speaking publicly as a university employee about the financial impact of a $56 million court ruling against the companies. A $5 million settlement was later reached.

In November 2003, the three processors, who all serve on the governor-appointed Maine Wild Blueberry Commission, were found guilty in Knox County Superior Court of fixing prices they paid to growers during four harvests in the late 1990s.

Just days after the jury’s verdict, Emerson spoke with the Bangor Daily News about the lawsuit’s likely impact. The Blueberry Hill farm manager predicted that the industry would be back to normal by spring, but a processor might be lost along the way. At the time, he noted dozens of blueberry processing companies have come and gone over the years.

With UM’s support, Emerson remained in his position at Blueberry Hill. Soon after, Gov. John Baldacci and Maine Commissioner of Agriculture Robert Spear looked into the processors’ visit and complaint lodged with the UM dean. Their finding is pending. The processors have contended their visit was not on behalf of the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission.

The processors’ action soured Emerson’s final season in the fields – and he spent much of the summer wearing a “Freedom of Speech” baseball cap.

Emerson has plenty of plans for his retirement, once it really occurs. Not surprisingly, working with blueberries tops them.

Emerson and his wife, Marie, own a 10-acre farm in Addison called Wild Wescogus Blueberries. “Wescogus” is a Passamaquoddy word meaning “above the river.” The property overlooks the woods, the winding Pleasant River and acres of berries now a deep, rich red. The fields’ promising color portends a better season than last for all the industry, according to Emerson.

Blueberry Hill’s manager looks forward to his new status as a “regular grower” again.

“I’ll get to go to the farm and ask for advice,” he joked.