State grants will help three Cape Cod cranberry farmers renovate bogs

Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

Three Cape Cod cranberry growers in Bourne, Marstons Mills, and Sandwich, received state grants for bog renovation this year, designed to help farmers compete with Wisconsin and Quebec by restoring old bogs and planting new, high yield cultivars.

The awards are limited to $25,000 per acre, up to a maximum of $125,000.

At an Agriculture Day Celebration on April 3, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced more than $3 million in grants to support Massachusetts farmers through programs that improve cranberry bog restoration, composting efforts, food safety, and business planning. 

The bog renovation program is especially important for cranberry growers in Massachusetts, according to Brian Wick, executive director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association. The association represents nearly 330 growers in southeastern Massachusetts, the Cape and the Islands.

Because Cape cranberry bogs are among the oldest in the state, are relatively small and spread out, and contain mostly heirloom varieties, farmers are having a hard time competing, Wick said.

An old cranberry barn on the Chop Chaque cranberry bogs in Mashpee which sits next to Santuit Pond. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times
An old cranberry barn on the Chop Chaque cranberry bogs in Mashpee which sits next to Santuit Pond. Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times

“The marketplace is looking for bigger varieties of cranberries to make dried cranberry product,” Wick said in an interview April 12. “They like bigger berries than our traditional heirloom variety.”

To that end, the grant program helps farmers retool their bogs by laser leveling the bog, removing old vines, and planting new varieties that have three to four times the yield of the heirlooms. The berries produced are bigger, exactly what buyers want, Wick said.

“The growing costs are the same but you’re getting more yield,” he said. “It’s keeping farms viable. Its innovation needed to keep our growers viable for the years to come.”

In this October 2023 photo, Sean Hallett, left, and Peter Thomas shake up a sea of red during a cranberry wet harvest of a two and a half acre bog on the Willowbend Golf Course in Mashpee.
In this October 2023 photo, Sean Hallett, left, and Peter Thomas shake up a sea of red during a cranberry wet harvest of a two and a half acre bog on the Willowbend Golf Course in Mashpee.

Massachusetts produces 28% of the nation’s cranberries, second to Wisconsin (60%), according to a report by Farm Credit East. The financial cooperative reports that cranberries, the state’s largest agricultural food commodity, has a yearly crop value of $73.4 million. With 30% of all North American cranberry acreage, the industry provides nearly 6,400 jobs and a total economic benefit of more than $1.7 billion to the state economy.

Renovated bogs have environmental benefits, Wick added. Because they are laser-leveled, they require less water to flood for harvesting. And new cranberry varieties use less water during the growing season.

It will take a few years before growers will be able to harvest the new crops, Wick said. Growers are thankful to the state for recognizing the industry was in trouble, he added.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com . 

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape cranberry growers get state awards to improve harvest, businesses