Juneberry (Serviceberry)
Amelanchier alnifolia (commercial); Amelanchier canadensis (native eastern) GRIN 2870
Juneberry (Serviceberry) is a native perennial shrub/small tree well-suited to Zones 2-9, thriving in well-drained acidic to neutral soils (pH 4.8-8.0) with full sun to partial shade. It produces nutritious berries ripening in early summer with a flavor similar to blueberries. Bird netting is typically needed to protect the crop.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Growing Season
- Plant
- Early spring or fall – Early spring or fall
- Harvest
- Mid-June – Early July
Yield
- Typical yield
- 4,000 lbs/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 30 years
- Years to full prod.
- 6
- Labor
- 390 hrs/acre
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
No buyer on record for this crop in the catalog's buyer network.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "increasing".
Supply Below Demand
2 of 4 documented channels rate viability "strong". Sold into regional rather than national markets, fruit supply here generally trails that demand.
Multiple Buyer Channels
4 of 4 documented market channels rate viable or better (farmers_market, direct_to_consumer, csa, retail). Multiple independent routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
3 viable direct-market channels (farmers_market, direct_to_consumer, csa). Supports value-added and margin capture beyond wholesale.
Market Growth Projected
Specialty fruit segment; consumer demand for regionally grown specialty produce has been expanding.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 2-9; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop GDD minimum not recorded. Region accumulates 2500+ GDD (base 50F), sufficient for most temperate crops.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop water requirement not recorded. Region is humid continental with reliable growing-season rainfall; irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop frost-free requirement not recorded. Region provides ~180 days.
Chill Hours Met
Perennial. Region's zone 5-6 winters deliver well over 1,000 chill hours, ample for temperate perennials.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 8 hardiness zones (2-9). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Fit by region
The farm matcher, run on each region's cited climate normals. Soil and site are not included here; add your own on the match page.
Limited by high-severity risks. 6 criteria evaluated, 3 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Limited by high-severity risks. 6 criteria evaluated, 3 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Limited by high-severity risks. 6 criteria evaluated, 3 not yet researched; 100% cited.
Climate envelope & site
What the farm matcher compares your conditions against.
Climate envelope
- Hardiness zone
- 2–9
- Frost-free season
- not yet recorded
- Heat (GDD base 50°F)
- not yet recorded
- Winter chill
- 2,100+ hours
- Rainfall
- 25.6–50 in/yr
Below the minimum, irrigation is needed; above the maximum the crop fails.
- Soil pH target
- 5.5–7.5
Extension lime target; within 1.0 of it is correctable.
Site & structure
- Spring frost at bloom
- moderate sensitivity
- Needs cold-air drainage
- yes — avoid frost pockets
- Shade tolerance
- none — full sun
- Mature height
- 9 ft
- Rooting depth
- not yet recorded
- Wind exposure tolerance
- not yet recorded
- Workable slope
- not yet recorded
Height, rooting depth and shade tolerance are the inputs an alley or guild layout needs.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
1 of 7 documented equipment items are crop-specific (14%) against a catalog median of 29%. Most needs are met by general row-crop or orchard equipment.
Storage Available
Storage requirements not documented for this crop, so no penalty is applied. This is a research gap, not a finding that storage is easy.
Irrigation Compatible
Water requirement not recorded; standard drip or overhead irrigation assumed adequate.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
350 labor hr/ac vs catalog 75th percentile 250 hr/ac. Labor-intensive — competes for scarce seasonal labor.
Processing Proximity
No processing or cooperative buyer on record for this crop; product would need to travel or be sold fresh.
Equipment Requirements
planting
Site preparation, mowing between rows, and spraying. Shared fixed cost across a small-fruit operation.
Establishment only. Shrubs are set once and cropped for decades.
irrigation
Establishment years are the critical irrigation window; mature plantings are comparatively drought tolerant.
cultivation
Effectively mandatory. UKY identifies birds as the greatest threat to production, and netting is the only reliable control.
Annual renewal pruning maintains fruiting wood and the airflow that suppresses leaf spot and mildew.
harvesting
Fruit ripens in uniform clusters within a narrow window, so hand harvest is concentrated into a short, labour-intensive period.
spraying
Protectant fungicide for Fabraea leaf spot, rust and fire blight in wet springs.
Financial Return
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $12,000/ac vs catalog median $6,000/ac. Above median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Annual operating cost $5,000/ac vs catalog 75th percentile $6,300/ac. Within typical range.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 6 years. Long establishment — capital tied up 6 years before full return.
Insurance Available
No federal crop insurance recorded for this crop; risk sits with the grower.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Net return per labor hour $14.29 ($5,000/ac over 350 hr/ac) vs catalog median $13.16. Above median.
Grants/Subsidies
Fruit crops are eligible under the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $3/per lb |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $12,000 |
| Annual Operating Cost | $5,000/acre |
| Establishment Cost | $10,500/acre |
| Total Input Cost | —/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $5,000 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Not available |
Source: Cornell Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA RMA, regional budget studies (2025)
Risk Profile
Manageable Pest/Disease
4 of 8 documented risks are high-severity (50%) against a catalog median of 36%. Above-median concentration of high-severity risk, demanding intensive management.
Market Diversified
4 viable market channels of 4 documented. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
6 years to full production at $10,500/ac establishment cost. Multi-year capital commitment before first full return.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 2-9 (8 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a fruit revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
pest
Browse on young growth and developing fruit; rabbits and voles girdle stems of establishing plants over winter.
UKY identifies birds as the greatest threat to juneberry production. Fruit ripens in uniform clusters over a narrow window, concentrating the loss.
Adults skeletonise foliage and can become a major problem in some plantings, reducing photosynthetic area and weakening plants over successive seasons.
disease
White fungal growth on leaves and shoots, most severe in humid conditions with poor air movement.
Bacterial disease (Erwinia amylovora) shared with other pome fruit; blights blossoms and shoots and can kill whole plants in severe years.
Fungal leaf spot causing premature defoliation in wet seasons, cumulatively weakening plants and reducing the following season's crop.
Rust requiring an alternate juniper or red cedar host. Produces bright lesions on leaves and fruit, rendering fruit unmarketable.
market
UKY explicitly advises producers to start small because market demand for juneberry is limited. Consumer familiarity is low outside the northern Plains and Prairie Provinces.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Juneberry (Serviceberry) against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Pollinator support
- Very early spring bloomhigh
Amelanchier is among the earliest woody plants to flower in the northern temperate spring, providing nectar and pollen at a point when almost nothing else is open and emerging queen bumblebees and solitary bees are provisioning.
Applies when: Value is highest where the planting is not sprayed during bloom.Evidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Biodiversity
- Native shrub habitat and bird foragehigh
A North American native. The same fruit attractiveness that makes birds the primary production pest is itself a substantial wildlife provisioning service on unharvested or hedgerow plantings.
Applies when: Directly in tension with yield — netting that protects the crop removes the habitat benefit.Evidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Soil health
- Perennial no-till ground covermoderate
As a long-lived perennial shrub, soil under an established planting is undisturbed for decades, allowing organic matter and soil structure to develop in contrast to annual rotation.
Evidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Erosion control
- Woody root stabilisationmoderate
Permanent woody root systems with inter-row cover hold soil on sloping ground where annual cropping would expose it during establishment each year.
Applies when: Requires maintained inter-row vegetation rather than bare cultivated alleys.Evidence: Extension guidance·Confidence: medium
Cultivars
Named varieties and what the sources say sets each apart. A cultivar-specific zone, chill or maturity figure overrides the species value above.
Grows With / Avoid Near
Documented interactions with other catalog crops — shared pests, allelopathy, rotation effects, alley and understory pairings — for companion, guild and rotation planning. Plan a combination with Juneberry (Serviceberry) →
Avoid near, or plan around (6)
Grows with (2)
Direction matters: a rotation benefit of A before B says nothing about B before A. Interactions are documented pairs only; absence is a research gap, not a clean bill.
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Data sourced from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA resources, and regional research.
Economics data year: 2025 · Basis: lake erie
50 tracked changes across 4 data categories