Blueberry growers get to vote on whether to keep paying for blueberry ads

The US Agriculture Department is asking blueberry growers and importers if they want to continue funding a national program that promotes blueberries. This means they will decide if they keep paying a fee to support research and advertising for highbush blueberries.

For years, many agricultural products have had these kinds of programs, where producers pay into a fund for collective marketing and research. This referendum is a routine check to see if the people paying still think it's worth it. If they vote no, the program ends, and blueberry growers keep their money instead of funding ads.