CATTARAUGUS — Plump, sun-ripened blueberries will soon be ready for picking at Burdick Blueberries for the 70th anniversary of the blueberry owned and operated by three generations of the Burdick family on Thompson Road.
“Even after seven seasons, I’m still excited for the first blue on the field,” said owner Amy Edwards. “When I think of my grandfather, Milton Burdick, a blueberry picking pioneer, I’m amazed that it all started 70 years ago this season.
Edwards and his partner, Beth Strasser, welcome blueberry pickers to their 40-acre Blueberry, a hidden gem nestled atop a hill in the woods of East Otto. While Edwards oversees every detail of the farm operation, Strasser manages the retail side as well as the flower production called Bluems.
According to Edwards, their farm has perhaps one of the largest U-pick blueberry plots in New York State. They carefully monitor their eight highbush varieties that produce premium quality blueberries, then show their customers where to harvest the best pick of the day.
If the walk is too far for the pickers, they’ll take them in an old farm truck converted into what they call their “surrey with the fringe up.”
Amy Edwards’ grandfather, Milton Burdick, founded the Burdick Blueberries Farm in 1952.
THE FARM was started by Edwards’ maternal grandparents, Milton and Pauline Burdick, who had a vision to create a concept U-pick farm. The U-pick berry and flower farm has attracted several generations of local residents and out-of-town visitors since the farm began growing berries in 1952, Edwards said.
Milton Burdick originally leased the property in 1937 where he farmed potatoes for about 15 years and during those years he also had a dairy farm in the valley below Reid Hill, Edwards said. He had attended Michigan State University where he learned to grow highbush blueberries and recognized that the property and soil would be ideal.
According to the farm’s website, Burdick and his wife, Pauline, purchased the entire 80-acre parcel that is now Burdick Blueberries in 1952 and began planting what has become 30,000 blueberry plantations.
Over time, they needed help, so their daughter, Helen, and her husband, Roger Edwards, moved to the farm in the early 1960s and remained there for decades. Edwards said his father was an innovator of machinery for berry production and his mother was a talented co-manager of the business who made his father’s dream come true. They taught their three children, Paula Jo, Peter and Amy, how to be part of the family business.
“When my grandfather needed more help, my parents lived in Connecticut and they were both teachers. My brother and my sister were small and I was not born yet,” she said. “They came in the summers to help out on the farm. I was born the first year they moved here. Then I left when I was 18, but came back to help out on vacation.
Edwards said his older sister, Paula Jo, took over running the farm after her parents retired and brought the pick-your-own flower garden to life. She said her sister had owned the farm for 15 years, but died in 2014.
His brother, Peter, and his family live in Michigan, so he was unable to take over the farm. Edwards said it wasn’t an easy decision for her and Strasser to leave their life in San Diego behind, but they made the choice to keep the family farm and dream.
“We had lots of friends in California and enjoyed our healthcare careers,” she said. “My sister passed away in December 2014 and we left San Diego to come here on April 1, 2015. We had to make a decision quickly because we knew the patch had to be trimmed.”
Amy Burdick and her dog, Abby, pose next to her grandfather’s 1958 GMC truck that he used to haul potatoes.
THERE IS A a lot of work in a big blueberry. Strasser, who grew up in northeast Pennsylvania near Scranton, said they prune each bush each year from November through April.
The on-site farm shop offers ready-made farm-fresh bouquets from their gardens, locally baked blueberry pastries and pies, local organic maple syrup, local raw wildflowers and honey from blueberry flower, as well as Burdick farm t-shirts and hats.
Their pre-picked blueberries are often available at the store, but it’s best to pre-order and arrange a pickup. There is a poster on display in the store featuring Edwards’ sister, Paula Jo, and her Burdick cousins on the cover of Organic Gardening in 1963.
Edwards said the farm is becoming a popular venue for outdoor weddings and other special events. They started a guest house in 2019 which can be booked on AIRBNB and VRBO.
Picking begins in mid-July and will continue until August. Edwards said they would announce their opening date soon.
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