06/05/2026
Blueberries were first cultivated commercially in Michigan in the 1920s after MSU horticulture professor Stanley Johnson set up test plots throughout the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. He discovered that blueberries thrived, particularly in the sandy soils near Lake Michigan, and his work over the following decades would position MSU as a nationwide leader in production.
Today, Michigan’s blueberry industry contributes more than $529 million in economic activity annually, and MSU helps every step of the way.
"I’m biased, of course, but I think the small fruit team at MSU is the best in the nation, if not the world, in terms of the services they provide to our communities and farmers,” says Nancy Nyquist, executive director of the Michigan Blueberry Commission. "MSU has its hands on the industry in so many ways, and it’s really phenomenal.”
