<p>In spite of Georgia’s longstanding allegiance to the peach, blueberries are in fact the state’s most valuable fruit crop, by far.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Blueberries overtook peaches as the most valuable fruit crop in 2005, and the gap has continued to grow according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In 2012, blueberries are estimated to have generated $94 million for Georgia growers, over three times that brought in by the state’s nearly $30 million peach crop, according to The Florida Times Union.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"It's surprising around the country how many people don't realize Georgia grows blueberries," said Joe Cornelius, chairman of the Georgia Blueberry Commission and a farmer who grows about 170 acres of the crop. He refuses to gloat about surpassing his fellow peach farmers. "I don't foresee Georgia changing to the blueberry state."</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Prices on average have jumped from 48 cents a pound in 1993 to $1.34 in 2012, and the growth was among one of the main factors prompting farmers to plant larger and larger numbers of blueberry bushes. It also represented a more viable alternative to traditional crops like tobacco and tinder.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://southernspecialties.com/" target="_new">Southern Specialties</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
