From Data to Decisions: AI’s Role in Blueberry Success

The Business of Blueberries

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Lucas Thelosen, founder and CEO of Gravity, and Joe Vargas, director of business intelligence for USHBC and NABC. Thelosen has been at the forefront of leveraging technology to transform industries, and today he and Vargas discuss what this means for blueberries and for agriculture.

“ What if we could bring the same level of analytical sophistication that someone like Amazon has or someone like Google has, to the average business?” – Lucas Thelosen

“ I think that artificial intelligence piece where you can have an analyst with you 24/7, whether you're working on stuff in an airplane or in the middle of the night, it's there for you to be able to help you understand things that you didn't see.” – Joe Vargas

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to artificial intelligence (AI) and its use for extracting insights from data.
• A discussion about how the USHBC is leveraging advancements in AI to help the industry make more optimal decisions.
• Why this is the next evolution of the BerrySmart Insights platform.
• How data and AI will impact the future of the blueberry industry.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from TJ Hafner in Oregon, Alan Schreiber in Washington, Jody McPherson in North Carolina, Pat Goin in Indiana, Luis Vegas in Peru and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on June 12, 2025.