Cranberry harvest well underway

Oct 11, 2021

In Wareham, the cranberry harvest season marks the start of fall. In recent weeks, crews have been hard at work in the bogs harvesting plump ripe berries.

The Cranberry Marketing Committee is predicting an “average crop” this year. 

In Massachusetts, the committee forecasts that farmers will harvest 1.9 million 100-pound barrels of cranberries. That yield would be about 5 percent higher than the 2020 harvest.

Nationally, the group predicts that 8.1 million barrels of berries will be harvested — also a 5 percent increase over last year. 

“Similar to last year, our bogs are tracking to deliver a solid crop yield for Massachusetts growers, what I would consider an average crop for our region based on past performance,” said Brian Wick, the executive director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association.

Wick noted that last summer brought a significant drought, which impacted some of the perennial vines this spring. The growing season started slowly with a cold spring, Wick said, before heavy rains meant growers spent a good deal of time working to keep bogs dry.