Helped by studies showing health benefits and by aggressive marketing efforts, cranberry exports have jumped 70 percent in the past six years. Using modern methods, Wisconsin and Canadian growers are benefiting from this trend and out-producing their Massachusetts counterparts who mostly rely on the same vine varieties that have grown in the swampy ground since the Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving.

Growing vision

The first step Massachusetts growers have taken toward addressing the challenge is to renovate their bogs, the beds layered with sand, peat and clay where cranberries grow. The second step is switching to another variety of berry. While Massachusetts's native cranberries typically yield 100 to 140 barrels per acre, a modern hybrid such as Crimson Queen, developed by Rutgers University, can yield up to 400 barrels per acre.

The entire bog renovation process can cost between $25,000 and $35,000 per acre, plus a wait of three or more years for the first harvest. Not too many growers can afford this on their own. A recently awarded $1.5 million state grant may be the missing part of the solution. According to the grant provisions, grant money will fund $10,000 per acre, with the farmers paying the rest.

Powerful precision

The renovation process begins with sterilizing or cleaning the beds – taking off the top six inches of the soil and getting rid of old roots and fungus. To remove all that soil requires powerful equipment, but on the other hand, the work has to be done without disturbing the delicate balance of layers that makes up the structure of the bog.

Once the removal process has been completed, clean sand is brought in, and spread in a thickness of between six and eight inches; sand works both as a growing base and to facilitate drainage. This is a stage that requires a lot of precision. Obtaining a very level surface is a key objective when you are rebuilding a bog; levelness results in better drainage and better water utilization, which can save an owner tens of thousands of dollars a season. Water is used in winter to protect the vines and buds from winter injury, and in spring, as a cultural practice to manage insects, weeds and disease. Water is used for irrigation, also; and last but not least, water is used for harvesting.

A third generation cranberry grower, Kenneth Harju is a forward-thinking Massachusetts landowner who has opted for rejuvenating his bogs. He gives his opinion regarding how Trimble’s laser-guided motion-control technology featured on their new CAT D6K helped him and his sons Derek and Dana achieve their goals much faster and more efficiently.

“We cultivate about 400 acres of bogs, most of them our own,” says Harju, and he continues “Some of the bogs are over 100 years old and we made the decision to rebuild and switch to new hybrids for all the right reasons – better yield, of course, but also better use of water and easier harvesting.” In the past, the Harjus had relied on the traditional “sight-and-stick” method to help grade their bogs. But that was then! When Derek and Dana visited the equipment trade show in Las Vegas last year, they met with their Milton CAT salesman Dave Fenton, and together they previewed a CAT D6K outfitted with a Trimble system that operates the blade automatically to the height needed to make the desired grade. As Dana says, “There is nothing left to guesswork, operator’s feel or intuition!” The system makes the decisions based on exact data, which the Harjus agree results in several major benefits:

• Cost savings. Being off just one inch over the space of a square yard can mean that you end up throwing away of a lot of expensive material. The Trimble system assures that only the needed amount will be spread.

• No wasted water. An even surface assures more efficient flooding, which is a huge advantage that the newly created bogs in Wisconsin and Canada have over those in the Bay State. “We need to comply with tough new regulations regarding the use of water, and the Trimble system helps us do that,” comments Kenneth Harju.

• Less damage to the base. Only one pass will be needed with the motion-control operated machine , not two or three, and of course, as Ken Harju reminds us, since the D6K LGP is especially designed to have a low PSI with excellent weight distribution, the machine is big enough to get things done, but light enough not to get things in trouble. As Derek Harju puts it, “A lot of movement on the bog with the machine causes problems with the peat moss base.”

• Reduced labor. Dana Harju summarizes, “The system is user-friendly and very easy to run, much easier than the traditional way actually; with this system you can hit a button and away you go. And when you are done with one layer of materials and are ready to move to the next, you just hit a button right in the cab with no need to re-sight and re-set the sticks.”  

Sitting down at our Thanksgiving dinners we may feel the pride of knowing that there are several layers behind the cranberry relish we’re tasting – not just sand, clay peat and gravel! Vision, commitment and hard work of the Massachusetts growers, scientific research, advanced technology and timely support from the State are laying the foundation for the vigorous revival of a harvest that is an intrinsic part of our economy and of our tradition.