A little berry with big impact. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
By Mrigashirsha – Flickr/Wikipedia
Aronia berries have been around for hundreds of years, but they’re just now coming into the spotlight.
Greg Nelson is an aronia berry grower, one of the few in the United States. The plant is native to North America, and is also grown in other countries where there are colder climates. The berries resemble blue berries and grow on a similar bush. They have a number of health benefits and other uses.
Nelson and his son Chase, farm together. They grow primarily row crops, but when Greg learned about the health benefits of aronia berries, they set aside a bit of land and learned about the new crop.
Commercially, the berries are used in juices and other products. The Nelsons say the market is still developing, and they’re doing what they can to help it along.
Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s This Land of Ours program here.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.