Courtney Hammond packs some of his wild blueberries and freezes them to sell on his own. (Nicole Ogrysko, Maine Public)

For wild blueberry growers, climate change presents a challenge — but also an opportunity.

A few pipes and hoses are still scattered around Courtney Hammond’s wild blueberry fields in Harrington, the last remaining sign of a three-to-four week drought that frustrated wild blueberry farmers this summer.

For the first time ever, Hammond turned to the pond that he typically draws from to flood his cranberry beds, and used it to irrigate his wild blueberries.

“We irrigated the top of the hill and harvested this first, and then moved down to the north side of the ridge that doesn’t get the direct sunlight,” said Hammond, a third-generation wild blueberry grower who who runs Lynch Hill Farm with his family. “The berries were in better condition.”

The dry spell came at the worst time, right as the berries were developing their size.

Irrigation helped. But Hammond estimates that he still lost about half of his crop to drought.

Hammond spent the summer developing a makeshift irrigation system, using sprinkler heads and hoses that he found around his farm, a scrapyard and a local fire department. He connected the hoses to two pumps inside a shed.

“Two pumps running all the time, trying to maintain what we had for our crop,” Hammond said. “It was… it was a long season. At least until it rained.”

Scientists say earlier harvests and more frequent droughts could soon become the norm as temperatures rise on the blueberry fields. University of Maine research shows those fields are warming at a faster rate compared to the rest of the state as a whole.

It’s not all bad news, said YongJiang “John” Zhang, an assistant professor of plant physiology at the University of Maine. Warmer temperatures will extend the berries’ growing season.

“They have more time to accumulate carbohydrates or sugars, and they have more time to grow,” he said.

That means the berries will be heavier, generating a better yield for farmers, as long as steps are taken to address the drier conditions.

“If we provide them enough resources, maybe we can turn the warming or climate change into a good thing for the crops, if we can mitigate those negative impacts,” Zhang said.