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A berry special tour for Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast

Click photos to enlarge or download high resolution images.
(left to right) Jeff Lafleur, Director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association; Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast; Len Reno, District Conservationist. Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast and Linda Rinta, farm planner for the Plymouth County Conservation District.
(left to right) Jeff Lafleur, Director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association; Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast; Len Reno, District Conservationist. Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast and Linda Rinta, farm planner for the Plymouth County Conservation District.
(left to right) Cranberry grower George Rogers of A.D. Makepeace Co., Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast, Pilgrim RC&D Coordinator Irene Winkler and Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Assoc. Director Jeff Lafleur. Cranberry grower George Rogers of A.D. Makepeace Co. and Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast prepare to board the helicopter with the pilot.
(left to right) Cranberry grower George Rogers of A.D. Makepeace Co., Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast, Pilgrim RC&D Coordinator Irene Winkler and Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Assoc. Director Jeff Lafleur. Cranberry grower George Rogers and Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast prepare to board the helicopter with the pilot.
Workers wet harvest cranberries at Federal Furnace bogs in Carver, Mass. In the wet harvesting method, bogs are flooded, then special equipment called a water reel is used to dislodge the berries from the vines.
Workers "wet harvest" cranberries at Federal Furnace bogs in Carver, Mass. Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow under water. In the wet harvesting method, bogs are flooded, then special equipment called a water reel is used to dislodge the berries from the vines.
Cranberries float because there are pockets of air inside the fruit. Wooden or plastic “booms” are used to round up the berries.
Cranberries float because there are pockets of air inside the fruit. Wooden or plastic “booms” are used to round up the berries.
The berries are then lifted by conveyor or pumped into a truck to take them to the receiving station for cleaning. Wet harvested berries are used for juice, sauce and other processed products. Dry harvested berries are sold fresh.
The berries are then lifted by conveyor or pumped into a truck to take them to the receiving station for cleaning. Wet harvested berries are used for juice, sauce and other processed products. Dry harvested berries are sold fresh.

CARVER, MASS. (October 23, 2007) -- USDA Deputy Under Secretary Gary Mast viewed the 2007 cranberry harvest from all angles during a recent visit to Massachusetts at the invitation of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association (CCCGA).

A helicopter tour with grower George Rogers of A.D. Makepeace Co. and farm planner Linda Rinta of the Plymouth County Conservation District (PCCD) took off from Federal Furnace bogs in Carver and gave Mast a bird's eye view of the Bay State's crimson harvest.

Back on the ground, CCCGA Director Jeff Lafleur gave Mast an overview of the Massachusetts cranberry industry, explained growing and harvesting methods and discussed conservation practices.

Mast later met with a small group of growers and representatives of UMass Extension, CCCGA, PCCD and NRCS, including District Conservationist Len Reno and Pilgrim RC&D Coordinator Irene Winkler.

Linda Rinta of PCCD gave a presentation on the Massachusetts Cranberry Farm Planning Program. Now in its 14th year, the program provides conservation planning services to the commonwealth's nearly 400 cranberry growers.

Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow under water. Water is an important resource in cranberry production, however. Growers use water to protect cranberries from frost and hot weather in summer, as well as to irrigate.

Each acre of cranberries will use seven to ten feet of water to meet all production, harvesting and flooding needs. There are two main ways cranberry growers bring water onto the bogs – through sprinkler systems and through flooding.

Not surprisingly, many of the conservation practices adopted by cranberry growers focus on water management. Growers are concerned about both water conservation and water quality in this quickly growing region of the commonwealth.

"Cranberry growers have a high rate of compliance with state water regulations," said Rinta, who explained that PCCD's partnership with NRCS and the University of Massachusetts has helped growers who are competing for a resource base with residential and commercial development.

"You're the epitome of cooperation with partners," said Mast of PCCD's cranberry farm planning program. "And you serve a very interesting and unique industry."

Of the approximately 1,000 cranberry growers in North America, 400 are in Massachusetts. About 70 percent of these growers are small family farms with less than 20 acres of bog.

Massachusetts cranberry growers own and control approximately 48,000 acres of upland and wetland support lands, outside of cranberry production acreage.

On average, every planted acre of cranberries is supported by three to four acres of surrounding wetlands and uplands. These supporting wetlands and uplands provide open space, wildlife habitat and groundwater recharge in an area otherwise stressed from urbanization.

Cranberries are one of only three commercially grown fruits native to North America. The other two are blueberries and concord grapes.

(Information from the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association website - www.cranberries.org - was used in this article.)

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