Oregon blackberries capitalize on favorable season and fresh market window
Oregon's blackberry industry is making the most of a favorable growing season and a unique summer market opportunity. The 2026 crop is on track for good volumes and strong fruit quality, while fresh production continues to expand.
Harvest remains underway, with some varieties expected to continue into August, but moderate temperatures throughout late June and July have kept weather-related stress to a minimum. This supported crop development across the state's production regions, Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission Administrator and Marketing Director Darcy Kochis told FreshFruitPortal.com.
"We had no extreme heat events in Oregon, so the quality of the fruit is looking very good,” she noted.
Thornless blackberries take the spotlight
While Oregon remains traditionally a processing state, some growers are slowly exploring fresh-market production.
"Oregon has this window that is not being supplied by other regions. And so producers are finding that that fits that gap in order to produce fresh for the retail market," Kochis explained regarding the focus shift.
According to the executive, the state still produces about 90 percent of US frozen blackberries.
Oregon continues to increase acreage planted with thornless blackberry varieties, particularly Columbia Star. However, Kochis said final variety data for the 2026 crop will become available after the commission receives its first production reports in mid-October.
"What we're seeing from the private breeding programs is a real focus on flavor. That is the number one component that they're breeding for and that these fresh market blackberries you're going to get are going to have," she said.
Growing for the future
While favorable temperatures benefited this year's crop, growers face rising production costs and increasing weather uncertainty. Labor availability also remains the industry's biggest operational challenge, while growers grapple with pest pressure and the potential effects of increasingly volatile climatic patterns.
To address this landscape, the commission is investing in research, grower support and marketing programs. This year, it also launched expanded grower trials to evaluate advanced blackberry selections under commercial conditions.
The initiative includes six farms across Oregon's Willamette Valley testing four advanced breeding selections. The varieties were planted this year, with the first commercial harvests expected in about two years.
“We're looking at all of the different attributes that we need to have in the fruit and then at how they are being impacted by heat and other factors that are more prevalent now,” she explained. “I think that one of the biggest things we did this year was start this new grower trial so we can stay ahead.”
*All photos are referential via Unsplash.
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