New Commissioner Has History of Industry Involvement
Karl Dettwyler, one of the newest members of the Oregon Blueberry Commission, has been growing blueberries for less than a decade. But Dettwyler, of Blue Line Farms in Silverton, didn’t hesitate to apply to serve on the commission.
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| Karl Dettwyler |
“I’ve always liked to be involved in any industry that we are a part of,” he said. “It’s nice to be a voice in the industry and I like the fact that being involved provides an opportunity to share some thoughts and ideas.”
Blue Line Farms expanded into blueberries in 2007, planting the late-season variety Elliotts. They continued to plant late-season varieties for each of the next three years. Today, in addition to Elliotts, it produces Legacy, Liberty and Aurora.
“At the time, the late-season varieties seemed to fit in better with our farm,” Dettwyler said. “The early ones kind of hit at the same time as the grass seed, and we just thought it would work better to get through the grass seed harvest and then move on to the blueberries.
“Also, there were a little better returns at that time in the later-season market,” he said. “And I think it helped the packers out, too, because you were missing that window when all the Dukes were coming in. So we could stretch their season and help everybody out.”
Among the biggest challenges the Dettwylers have faced, he said, is getting enough labor and getting good performance from labor.
“We’ve been fortunate to have enough labor,” he said, “but it hasn’t been cheap, and trying to get them to do a good job is something we strive at, too.
“And then getting premium quality for the fresh market berry has been a real challenge that we’ve been trying to address, particularly with Liberty,” he said. “You get a couple of hot days and Liberty can shrivel on you – get real soft real fast.
“We’re hoping we can improve the quality by putting in some overhead irrigation,” he said.
“With any crop there are always things to learn, and the blueberries definitely take a lot of work. And they take a lot of attention compared to the other crops we’ve had in the past on our farm,” he said.
The Dettwylers have concentrated on the fresh market to date, but that could change as the farm is looking to increase the percentage of berries it harvests for the processed market.
“We want to continue our relationships with the fresh packers, and also the processors,” he said.
“My hope down the road is to take the good quality berries off on the first pick or two. Then, at that point, when the quality is maybe deteriorating a little, put the machines out there,” he said.
In addition to serving on the Oregon Blueberry Commission, Dettwyler is a past president of the Oregon Seed Growers League and currently serves on the Oregon Seed Council.
As for his work on the commission, Dettwyler said: “I’m hoping that I can learn and also bring a few things to the table. And it’s kind of nice to get to know people throughout the Valley and learn their challenges and try to help them at the same time.
“If we work together as a community, it seems like we all can thrive,” he said.
Dettwyler and his wife, Emma, have three children: George, 10; Charlotte, 8; and Tess, 4.
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