RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) — Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries, producing 62 percent of the U.S crop in 2017.
A spokesperson for cranberry farmers in the Northwoods says the crop is at a critical point as the plants were affected by this year’s wet weather. The Director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, Tom Lochner tells WXPR Radio, the cooler weather in May and June has slowed growth.
“Right now the plants are coming into bloom and from what I’ve seen in talking to growers, they’re starting to see some pretty strong bloom in some areas across the state, especially in the southern regions. Growers have brought in honeybees and bumblebees for pollination. Right now it’s the pollination season, a little behind where we normally would be, a week or two.”
Lochner says growers need dry, warm, weather. He says right now the crop is projected to fall into the ‘normal’ range in terms of the amount of fruit.
“The estimates we had were between 5.5 and 6 million barrels of fruit. That’s very early and very subjective until we get through bloom and fruit set to see what we have in terms of berry numbers, we can’t be totally confident on what the final crop will be.”
While public perception might be that cranberries need a lot of water, Lochner says that isn’t true. They grow like any other plant and are flooded only at harvest time. He says an abundance of rain actually slows the growth and can be bad during the pollination season.
Lochner says growers have lifted a voluntary production cap so growers are back to full production. The cap was designed to reduce the number of berries as the market price had fallen. He says the growth in inventories of fruit is down and sales have picked up.RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) — Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries, producing 62 percent of the U.S crop in 2017.
A spokesperson for cranberry farmers in the Northwoods says the crop is at a critical point as the plants were affected by this year’s wet weather. The Director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, Tom Lochner tells WXPR Radio, the cooler weather in May and June has slowed growth.
“Right now the plants are coming into bloom and from what I’ve seen in talking to growers, they’re starting to see some pretty strong bloom in some areas across the state, especially in the southern regions. Growers have brought in honeybees and bumblebees for pollination. Right now it’s the pollination season, a little behind where we normally would be, a week or two.”
Lochner says growers need dry, warm, weather. He says right now the crop is projected to fall into the ‘normal’ range in terms of the amount of fruit.
“The estimates we had were between 5.5 and 6 million barrels of fruit. That’s very early and very subjective until we get through bloom and fruit set to see what we have in terms of berry numbers, we can’t be totally confident on what the final crop will be.”
While public perception might be that cranberries need a lot of water, Lochner says that isn’t true. They grow like any other plant and are flooded only at harvest time. He says an abundance of rain actually slows the growth and can be bad during the pollination season.
Lochner says growers have lifted a voluntary production cap so growers are back to full production. The cap was designed to reduce the number of berries as the market price had fallen. He says the growth in inventories of fruit is down and sales have picked up.
