NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The clouds that overstayed their welcome in New England for much of the summer parted on a recent afternoon at the Tougas Family Farm in Northborough, where visitors were plying rows of blueberry bushes for the ripest, plumpest, tastiest berries they could find.

Pam Frechette and her three children filled boxes provided by the farm — $2.99 a pound for less than 10 pounds, $1.89 if you pick 10 pounds or more — and she said the picking did seem as good or even better than in past years.

It was 9-year-old Sam, however, who emerged as the family spokesman on the issue.

“These are huge,” he gushed, dropping a berry into his mouth. “Mmmmm, they’re reeeaaalllly good!”

While the cool and rainy weather has wreaked havoc with much produce — it was a tough year for the strawberry, even worse for the poor cherry — the blueberry has fared considerably better, much to the delight of those who savor the tart and antioxidant-rich fruit in pies, muffins, pancakes — or simply by themselves.

Experts say the outlook is good nationally for the crop, with demand growing as consumers become more aware of the potential health benefits of the blueberry.

Blueberries in the Northeast begin to bud around Mother’s Day, and while the weather in May wasn’t ideal, it did allow for a strong bloom and successful pollination efforts. By the time persistent rains descended on the region in June, blueberry crops had enough of a head start to sufficiently weather the storm.

“If you didn’t get things planted before the rains started, you’re probably going to have a whole lot of trouble, because everything has just been so wet,” said Phyllis Tougas, who has owned the Northborough, Mass. farm with her husband for the past 28 years and also grows apples, strawberries, peaches and pumpkins.

The rain did slow the blueberry crop by about a week, she said, “but then we got a little heat and within a matter of days boom…we caught up.”

It also doesn’t hurt that the blueberry has a tougher skin than other berries, making them a bit less susceptible to mold or other disease.

North American blueberry production totaled about 653 million pounds in 2008, a 21 percent increase from the previous year, according to figures provided by the council. The high-bush, or cultivated blueberries, account for the vast majority of the fresh berries sold to consumers at stores or farms. Michigan and New Jersey are the top-producing high-bush states, generating $461 million in sales in 2008.

Maine is by far the largest U.S. producer of “wild,” or low-bush blueberries. Smaller and with a shorter shelf life, they are processed overwhelmingly for the retail frozen market.

David Bell, executive director of the Old Town, Maine-based Wild Blueberry Association of North America, said farmers “escaped a bullet” by enjoying a relatively dry month of May, allowing for a solid bloom before the June rains arrived.

“We have been fortunate in that it hasn’t been bad, but like everyone else in New England we would have preferred a little more sun and heat,” he said.

Bell said blueberry growers are watching carefully an “extremely contagious” leaf fungus that has spread from Canada to a handful of fields in Maine. While he still expects a good to excellent crop this year, if left unchecked the disease could affect the growing cycle for future years.