Fall Creek® News & Press

2025 market season and what lies ahead & shaping the future of blueberry production

Spotlight on ArabellaBlue® ‘FC14-062’ & LoretoBlue™ 'FC11-118' We are excited to highlight two high-performing varieties that meet the real-world needs of growers, making an impact across trials and commercial sites. ArabellaBlue® ‘FC14-062’: A vigorous, early-fruiting variety...

Fall Creek® will spotlight advances for growers, including SEKOYA®’s achievement of year-round availability across major markets through its worldwide network of members.

Fall Creek Farm and Nursery® served as a main sponsor of the International Blueberry Organization (IBO) Summit 2025, held Sept. 25–27 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The event marked the first time the global blueberry industry gathered in Africa, drawing more than 550 delegates from 32 countries.

EUGENE, Ore., U.S. – Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc.®, a leading global blueberry genetics and nursery company, today announced the appointment of Marc de Beer, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer, effective October 13, 2025.

Over the past few months, we have worked closely with our partners on the ground,  learning from each other and sharing new insights. Here are a few highlights:

Our demo site in Meterik, The Netherlands, is open, and you’re invited. It’s a chance to get a close-up look at 17 exciting Northern Highbush varieties, all growing under cover in a fertigated substrate system.

This May, Fall Creek®’s Grower Support Representative, Arkadiusz Bajak,  joined Marcel Belen and Leon Driessen from FineField to visit several leading blueberry growers across Poland. Their goal was to explore the role that machine harvesting might play in the future of blueberry farming across Poland and Central Europe.

In the world of blueberries, pricing never stands still. Over the past year, European grower returns have reflected not only local conditions but also broader global shifts in supply. El Niño-related weather disruptions in Peru, the world’s largest exporter, resulted in a 23% decline in export volumes (IBO Report 2024), leading to a noticeable increase in prices. Combined with the changing dynamics of the European summer season, these developments underscore the increasing interconnectedness of the blueberry market.

Discover more about our participation at Fruit Attraction 2024, the appointment of our new Key Account Manager, and the introduction of two Interim Co-Commercial Managers.

Fall Creek® is pleased to announce the appointment of Barbara Botes as new Area Manager for Southern Africa. With deep knowledge of the local fruit industry and a proven track record in business management, she is set to strengthen Fall Creek®’s position as a leading provider of blueberry plants and grower support in Southern Africa.

For the past two decades at Fall Creek®, we’ve been dedicated to pushing the boundaries of blueberry genetics, resulting in exceptional varieties that have revolutionised the global industry. Our breeding programme — with a strong emphasis on flavour, yield, disease resistance, and adaptability — consistently delivers results loved by both growers and consumers. In the final chapter of our journey, we proudly showcase our star performer: the Fall Creek® plant.

Fall Creek® Farm and Nursery is globally renowned for providing exceptional plants to the blueberry industry. These exceptional plants come from carefully designed proprietary tissue culture-, rooting-, and hardening-off processes. A significant challenge during the quarantine period of imported varieties, is the inefficiency of tissue culture facilities to successfully root- and harden-off plants under optimal conditions.

Paarl, South Africa – Fall Creek ® South Africa has established good ground for success in just three years of operation, thanks to a three-pronged competitive advantage: it enjoys a wealth of expertise provided by its global parent company, strong relationships within its region, and it is also deeply rooted in South African soil.

Occasionally, a person enters your life and leaves an indelible mark. Rarely does a person leave their mark on an entire industry. Dr. Bernadine Strik was one of these people. We were deeply saddened to learn of Bernadine’s passing. She was a friend to so many of us and has left the entire small fruit industry a rich legacy of research and learning.