05/25/2026
Hi everyone! I’ve suddenly gained A LOT of new followers and a bunch of email and phone inquiries in the last week (thanks to !!), so I figured it’d be a good time to make a brief introduction about me and my family farm.
My name is Emily, and my family established our no-spray fruit farm outside of Ashland, OR in 1983. We started out as a blueberry farm, but we also grow pears, apples, plums, and have one of the oldest remaining Asian pear orchards in the Rogue Valley. I did not start as a farmer, but after the fires and pandemic ended my 20-year theater career, I returned to the family business to help my elderly parents fix up the farm after some years of neglect. In 2024 I became the sole owner and operator of Blue Collar Berry Patch.
We were forced to close our blueberry u-pick in 2021 due to drought, and much of our field died off from climate change. I pivoted to bringing any crops we had to farmers markets. Currently I vend at the Ashland locations of Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market and Talent Artisans & Growers Evening Market, as well as other special events. Although I had only ever planned on selling fresh fruit, I have been a jam maker and canner for many years, turning my farm’s produce into tasty treats as gifts for friends and family. A fellow farmer suggested I should try selling some of my jams and jellies at the markets so I could maintain more of a year-round presence, and very quickly the preserves became more of the main event. So in addition to fresh berries, fruits, and herbs, I also offer over a dozen different jams and jellies, syrups, dried fruits, dried herb blends, and herbal tea.
Bringing us to this season… I’ve had many inquiries as to when I’ll have fruit available, and the short answer is I don’t know. The long answer is that due to the mild winter, earlier than normal blooms, and late extreme freeze and frosts, I have lost the entirety of my orchard fruit this year. The berries are still looking promising, but with the drought and no snow pack to fill the reservoirs it will be a short irrigation season and there may not be enough water available to get everything harvested through the summer. I still have some fruit in the freezer from last season, but not enough to make jam to get me through an entire year to next harvest, so I have to make hard choices that keep me in business. I’ll be harvesting berries for value-added products first, and then any overages I have I will bring to the markets. I will always post what I am bringing on Facebook and Instagram, so please follow and favorite my pages so you are alerted to what I have available. (My website is horribly out of date, but if I can find the time to get it updated I will post there too.) Unfortunately I will not be able to accommodate any wholesale or bulk orders this year. Let’s hope for better circumstances next year.
I hope that despite these setbacks you will still support me and my local family farm! Come to the markets, like and share posts, everything helps. Thanks for being here, and thanks for supporting local farmers!
