BLUEBERRIES MAKE APPEARANCE IN REGION

MILLERSVILLE, Mo. -- Lara Gravon got her wish Tuesday.

Gravon, of Jackson and formerly of Minnesota, has been waiting for the day she could pick her own blueberries at Illers Top of the Hill Berry Farm at Millersville this year.

Gravon has picked strawberries and blueberries at the Illers farm each of the past two years.

"We didn't have pick-your-own berry farms where I lived in Minnesota," she said.

Gravon uses the berries to make pies and blueberry syrup for pancakes.

"The blueberry season is in swing now, and overall the berries are looking good," said Joan Illers.

Illers, her husband, Don, and their son Chris operate one of more than 40 berry farms that feature pick-your-own operations in Missouri for strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

"We've been involved in producing strawberries about 15 years," said Illers. "We added blueberries and blackberries about three years ago."

This is a good year for berries.

Tuesday was the first day the Illers opened their blueberry patch for pick-your-own customers. "They were here at 7:30 a.m." said Illers. "And with lower than normal temperatures, pickers were here from time to time all day.

The Illers Farm is open to pickers from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"Blueberries need a lot of sunshine," said Illers. "And the berries have been getting it."

The blueberry season in Missouri and Southern Illinois usually begins about the time strawberries start fading out. Strawberries were early this year because of hot weather.

Blueberries should be available another three weeks. By that time blackberries will be ready.

The Illers farm also raises throttles blackberries, which should be ready the last part of June or first week of July.

Strawberries are still available in the area, but they are nearing the end of the season.

Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are not major crops in Missouri. They aren't listed in Missouri Farm Facts, a publication of the Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service that summarizes the state's farm products, said David Ensile, an agriculture statistician with the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

But there are a number of small patches of blueberries in the southern half of the state, said Ensile. The 40 berry farms combined probably consist of fewer than 200 acres.

Illers Farm and Mid-America Teen Challenge provide a number of blueberries in the immediate area.

Blueberries are also making their appearance at farmers' markets and are expected to be an item at the Thursday market held each week on Plaza Galleria parking lot in the 2000 block of Independence..

But many people like to pick their own blueberries.

"Blueberries are easy to pick," said Illers. "They grow within reach on bushes with no thorns."

Blueberries are a good treat," said Richard Meter, vocational director of Mid-America Teen Challenge, "They're sweet, nutritious and low in calories, and they don't require peeling, seeding or coring."

Other blueberry farms in Southeast Missouri include the Trace Creek Blues Farm at Glen Allen and the Highland Blueberry Farm south of Perryville.

Blueberry Hill, a fruit and vegetable farm near Cobden, Ill., contains more than 20 acres of blueberries.