It’s cranberry harvest season in Wisconsin. Here are Five Things You Should Know about Cranberries:
Wisconsin is the king of the cranberry: 62-percent of the cranberries grown in the United States come from Wisconsin. Massachusetts is a distant second in cranberry production, with about 20-percent of the nation’s crop. The rest are grown in New Jersey, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington state. About 840-million pounds of cranberries are produced each year.
Wisconsin is likely to stay the top cranberry producing state: Most of the bogs in Wisconsin are on family farms that have been cranberry producers for generations. The start-up costs for new bogs are expensive and keep many newcomers from getting into the business.
It costs about $27,000 per acre to start and irrigate a new cranberry bog. In addition to a system of dikes and tranches to irrigate the land, some bogs need to be fertilized for the first year. Bogs also need to be monitored for pests and aggressively weeded. The vines need to be transplanted from an existing bog, and, while they may produce fruit in the first year it takes three years of growth before there’s enough to harvest and be sustainable from season to season. Anyone getting into the cranberry-growing business must have enough cash reserves to cover three seasons of expenses before their bog begins producing revenue. Other crops, like corn or soybeans, can be harvested and generate income in the first year.
Wisconsin has cranberry infrastructure: Wood County is the top cranberry producing county in Wisconsin, followed by Monroe, Jackson and Juneau counties.
Ocean Spray, a cooperative of cranberry and grapefruit growers based in Massachusetts, has a large footprint in Wisconsin. They have a sizable processing facility in Babcock and Ocean Spray purchased the assets of Northland Cranberry in Wisconsin Rapids in 2004. Ocean Spray has also been a leader in developing new markets for cranberries, creating Cranapple juice in 1963 and the freeze-dried Crasins in 1993.
CranGrow, another group of independent cranberry growers in Wisconsin, opened a new processing facility in Warrens earlier this year. 30 growers from 25 counties are members of that co-op. They’ll have more control over their output now that they control their own processing and distribution.
Fall is crunch-time for cranberries: 83-percent of Americans have cranberries as part of their Thanksgiving meal, meaning about 20-percent of the cranberry crop is consumed during the holidays. During the rest of the year 94-percent of cranberries are turned into juice.
Cranberries for baking and desert products are a small but growing segment of the market. They’re added to breads, muffins, granola, cookies and ice cream. Ocean Spray began selling Crasins direct to industrial bakers as an add-in ingredient in 2004.
Cranberries are very healthy: Cranberries are very high in antioxidants, which have been shown in several studies to reduce the risk of cancer. They’re also an excellent source of vitamins A and C. They were popular among sailors in colonial days for preventing scurvy.
There’s some research that suggests a diet rich in cranberries helps to reduce tooth decay, and that cranberries reduce the risk of forming kidney stones. They’re also a heart-healthy food with almost no cholesterol and less than one gram of fat for a quarter-cup.
There’s one supposedly health benefit from cranberries that appears not to be true. Many people believe cranberries help prevent or cure urinary tract infections. That appears to be a wives tale that’s not supported by clinical research.
Chris Conley9.22.16