Elderberries are a successful niche crop at a crossroads: go big or stay small

Elderberries are native to the Midwest, but the commercial cultivation of the crop is relatively recent, and saw a big increase during the coronavirus pandemic. That has the burgeoning industry wondering if its future is as a small, niche crop or something bigger.
Four years ago, Alan Helland planted rows of elderberry shrubs to help diversify his family farm.

Today they stand eye-high in neat rows and produce about 25,000 pounds of elderberries annually.

“It's a portion of my farm income, 2.5 acres of new planting,” Helland said while showing a group of farmers around his Ashland, Missouri farm. “You know, it wouldn't come up to making a living.”