Blueberry Farmers Request EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
Blueberries are a local favorite here in Oregon, for many reasons. Perfectly plump little blueberries are delicious and nutritious, plus they’re also considered to be a “Super-Food” because they’re loaded with antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C and K, with a low-calorie count to boot.
Amazing miniature miracles that deserve a round of sound, especially when considering the fact that Oregon is the second largest Blueberry producer in the entire Nation.
TAKEAWAYS
- Blueberry Farmers Requesting Emergency Assistance
- Emery Tumbleston is Requesting $35M Emergency Funds on behalf of the community
- Oregon and Washington are Top Producers ALSO Experiencing Dry Conditions
- Oregon State of Emergency little notable results
- We could see Blueberry shortages coming soon if support is not provided
- Perennials Take Years to Grow and Produce Fruit, plant Starters Now
- Marc Brooks allegedly stole over $800k of Relief Funds for Rural Oregon Wildfire Efforts
- Water shortages raise New Concerns about Data Centers
- Farmers need more real tangible support from administration
- We all need to try that Blueberry Cobbler Recipe
Oregon Loves Blueberries
In Oregon, we grow about 24% of the entire country’s blueberries. That’s 154 million pounds of Blueberries grown in Oregon 2020 alone, with exports all over the world to countries like Argentina, France, Italy, and Japan.
Oregon’s $120 Million Dollars Crop
In fact, Oregon is the second largest Blueberry producer in the entire Nation and Oregon’s 11th most valuable crop, worth “around $120 million dollars” according to Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation via OSU (cited below).
BLUEBERRYMAGEDON – TEAM INTRO
South Carolina Blueberry Emergency Assistance Request
Meet Emery Tumbleston of Champney Blueberries. For over 100 years, Tumbleston’s family has worked the land. Now, the land that started as a dairy farm before planting Blueberries, is in jeopardy of losing everything.
Emery Tumbleston of Champney’s Blueberry Farm in Ravenel, South Carolina has been picking Blueberries with her family since she was 2 years old, and they’ve been sharing the harvest with the world.
Blueberry Celebrity with Famous Recipes
Emery Tumbleston is somewhat of a local Blueberry celebrity in South Carolina, and she’s even been featured on South Carolina ETV sharing her cherished family recipes.
Famous Blueberry Cobbler Recipe
Her Blueberry Cobbler looks amazing and the Chat says “Made this already 3 times. Everyone LOVES it.” on this YouTube video published over 6 years ago. Like I said, she’s the OG of Blueberries in Ravenel, South Carolina.
BLUEBERRYMAGEDON – PLEASE HELP
Blueberry Farms in South Carolina are in a “dire” situation, and farmers are speaking up for help.
Tumbleston Insta instagram.com/champneysblueberries
Tumbleston FB facebook.com/champneysblueberries
According to Insta reports by Emery Tumbleston, over 75% of farmers are not able to afford the fertilizer they need for their crops, fuel prices have also gone up dramatically, as well. However, there’s even more horrifying details to this story.
Fuel prices are up approximately 50%
Emery Tumbleston posted a reel on Instagram with urgent concerns about this 2026 year of crops, and fuel prices being up 50% recently can be costly. Remember folks, we are not talking about a 10 gallon tank that costs $10 or $20 more when the price goes up, we’re talking about BIG Farm Tanks with multiple rigs to fill.
The amount of fuel a farm uses depends on their setup and usage, but a farm that needs several hundred gallons or even 1,000 gallons of fuel is still not a “huge” farm persay, but you can see how that $20 becomes $2,000 really fast! That adds up quickly at those levels of operation, which is still not very large in general (not even close to a Mega Farm that use FULL 10,000 Gallon Tankers of fuel, so 1,000 gal. is still small a operation).
Please Reconsider What You Call a “Large” Farm
I also want to be very clear on that because the public is often mislead with what “Large” is, or we wouldn’t be paying CashApp tax over $600 if it was really about “tax the rich” like you say. “They” always stack the deck, so be clear 1,000 gallons is small. The public has been mislead to think 50-100 guys bailing hay for a skeleton crew to run the farm is a big operation. Stop doing that to farmers.
It’s not a big operation, it’s Seasonal Harvest Team Expansion. 3-4 people can work the farm with 30 that show up to pick, haul, load, etc. but you say they’re big ops over a few million, ridiculous when you LOOK AT THEIR FUEL BILLS.
“They” tricked the bleeding hearts again, into hurting all small-mid-sized local producers that actually take care of the people, sad, tax the rich is for fools. Do better for our farmers.
Perennial Nightmare
Blueberries are a Perennial, which basically means they keep coming back for more than a couple years. Unlike veggies, such as green beans which are harvested and pass at the end of each season, Blueberry/Bush/Perennials keep renewing each year as they grow, so that also means they do not produce fruit for the first few years as they grow.
For best results, farms will usually pull them from a starter greenhouse before planting in the ground at about the 1-3 year old mark. This is an important factor to remember for what happens next.
Think about it. What happens if we lose a year’s crop? The prices go up as supply drops. The farmers try to plant more to make up for it, but ya gotta remember it takes 1-3 years before they are even planted in the ground. Now add to the equation the fact: it’s not the only recent catastrophic event!
Let’s look at the late freeze in 2022 that destroyed “nearly all of the blueberries in South Carolina.” The Champney Blueberry Farm staff reported that they “lost nearly 85 percent” of that year’s harvest.
That’s a lot!
Plant More Starters Now
I mention that specifically because we can all rally back from this, just like they have previously. I am not trying to say this is the end of Blueberries. However, we’re not out of the woods yet. We need to get this funding and plant more starters immediately because of the growth times, assuming losses for what comes next. How much we lose is the question.
Drought Level Dry Soil
South Carolina, Oregon, and Washington are all having a similar issue, lack of water.
Oregon and Washington’s record low snowpack combined with dam removal that have squandered resources now greatly missed.
In South Carolina, the soil is so dry it falls through Emery Tumbleston’s hands like sand in an hourglass with very little time left as her cover crop was of no avail. Watch it crumble through her hands. That is horrifying. Be warned, this video should be rated R for ridiculous that she doesn’t already have the funds in route.
EMERGENCY REQUEST
Emery Tumbleston is requesting a One Time Emergency Appropriation of $35M to help South Carolina rural comminutes survive.
Please share and let’s help her make this happen.
OREGON STATE OF EMERGENCY
In March, Tina Kotek called for “State of Emergency” for Oregon, but nothing notable has been accomplished as of yet. Leading me to believe we may be getting the classic lip service with no follow-through. If that happens, again, we run the risk of losing our Blueberry Farms.
At this point in the con-stitutional crisis, it’s clear that all Farmers are in this together, Nationwide.
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ARTICLE CONTINUE
Oregon Farmers Speak UP
I would like to start a real conversation about what Farmers actually need in Oregon, so we can demand action. Tina Kotek’s “State of Emergency” will mean nothing if we do not hold her accountable for results.
Oregon Fire Recovery Fraud (allegedly)
Especially seeing how the Fire Recovery Efforts have been plagued by alleged fraud. What’s even more sad is that I remember Marc Brooks, the alleged fraudster, very distinctly because he used to talk down at me about how successful his non-profit was in chats, so I am not surprised to see his name in the headlines after seeing his lavish trips posted on FB all the time. That money should have been going to the rural farm families who needed it.
Oregon Farm Families Sold False Hope
The importance is great, because it clearly shows how bad Oregon rural farms and families have been treated already. Sold false hope and dreams that never came true after some of the most devastating wildfires, that many believe could have been prevented with proper management such as increased “thinning” of overgrown forests.
However, regardless of what happened to the money, or even if some is recoverable, it still does not help the people who needed it! Worse yet, many of the people still do need it, and some say Tina Kotek has left them to burn again in the next wildfire they believe could be imminent with such historically-dry conditions.
Before you see his pic below (that no one else will show you), without giving him a pass, just know that there was probably some wild business deal that went south, and we’ll report back with the Tea of what happens in this case to make sure the record is straight.
We weren’t really “Friends” outside FB, but his addition to the story adds a valuable emotional layer to the equation when considering the lack of follow-through rural farm families must feel they’ve received from Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. Always remember “allegedly” and know we’re using this for good, and he owes them one, or 800k.
With the sheer levels of RAMPANT FRAUD being uncovered everywhere we look, that’s NOT going to American people, let’s make sure Emery Tumbleston of Champney Blueberries gets the money she needs, fast! …and let’s talk about Oregon.
What has Tina Kotek done for Farmers since calling the State of Emergency at the end of March? It’s been almost 30 days and we’ve got nothing to show but an NGO
Final Thoughts
First, we need to get the money Emery Tumbleston’s community requires ASAP. Second, we need a huge public Social Media “Rally” in support of Oregon/Washington/USA Blueberry Farmers and ALL Farmers in Oregon, Washington, California, and beyond.
We’re in this together, and that’s the one thing “they” hate the most. Let’s do this fam! Let’s get louder and make a list of demands for Blueberry Famers and then roll that into further support. This is how we win. Emery needs $35M so what’s up with this Oregon State of Emergency?
When you get a chance like this to support with an alley oop dunk pass, all you gotta do is show up and pass it. That’s all you have to do here. Save the Blueberries, pass it on, and go share Emery Tumbleston’s Reel because we’re saving the Blueberries!
Join me in supporting her in Saving the Blueberries of America, this is urgent.
Thank you for reading PNW Social News in Oregon …and I leave you with this final thought, with all the water shortages, it raises New Concerns about Data Center Water Usage.
Dam Removal in Oregon:
Sources:
https://www.live5news.com/2023/06/16/final-season-lowcountry-blueberry-farm
https://www.scetv.org/stories/2019/champneys-blueberry-cobbler-making-it-grow
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/perennial
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ec-1304-growing-blueberries-your-home-garden
https://oregonaitc.org/resources/oregon-resources/oregon-grown-commodities/blueberries
