Cranberry harvest season in full swing

Local cranberry growers are watching the fruits of their labor float to the top of the bogs as harvest season comes into full swing.

Many local bogs are owned and farmed by the Wareham based agricultural company A.D. Makepeace. The company is a part of the Ocean Spray co-op, a business where small farmers work together to grow and sell produce. A.D. Makepeace has been in the cranberry business for over 100 years. The company oversees cranberry growers in Wareham, Carver and Plymouth and is expecting a good harvest of between 350,000 and 400,000 barrels this year, according to Linda Burke, A.D. Makepeace’s vice president of marketing and communication,.

Each barrel is 100 pounds of cranberries.

In order to harvest this many cranberries, Burke explained workers first need to flood the bogs with around 6 inches of water. Once partially flooded, picking machines are sent out to knock the berries off their vines and then the bogs can be fully flooded to between 2.5 to 3 feet. This is when the harvest starts.

Once fully flooded, workers corral the floating berries using sections of floating plastic to create a defined perimeter for the berries. After the perimeter has been established, workers push the berries into a pipe that sucks them into a truck where debris is removed. After the debris is removed, the berries are moved into a different truck to be transported to the Ocean Spray processing plant in Carver, Burke added.

The harvesting process is not easy and requires A.D. Makepeace to hire extra hands for the season, according to Burke. She explained the company works with a program that hires South American immigrants to help them harvest the berries during the season.

According to Burke the workers will put in long days in order to make sure all the cranberries get harvested.

"As we get closer to the end of the season they'll work six or seven day weeks because they want to get everything taken care of before it starts getting really cold."

Burke explained the weather has had a large impact on cranberry growing, and she has noticed the effects of climate change on cranberry growing throughout her 20-year career.

The seasons have shifted, she said.

"It stays colder in March, which is a challenge because we have to protect the vines from frost," said Burke. "The vines are set the previous fall, so the time that real damage can happen to the cranberry is March, April and even as far as May when there are frosty nights.

Burke explained the bogs are also "frost pockets." This means It could be 45 degrees outside and below freezing on the bog.

Burke added the effects of climate change can also impact the color of the cranberries, and she said Ocean Spray won't take the berries if they are not red.

"The cranberry needs cool fall nights in order to get its red color," said Burke. "Last year we did not get as many colder fall nights and it took forever for the berries to redden up. This year we had some better weather so the berries turned red earlier.

As a part of the Ocean Spray co-op, A.D. Makepeace is dedicated to implementing sustainable cranberry growing practices.

Burke explained all of the water used for flooding is recycled. The company owns a number of reservoirs where they keep the water when it is not being used.

"The water is moved from one bog to another from a reservoir and once it is no longer needed, the water is pumped back into the reservoir it came from or it is released downstream for other growers to use," said Burke.