N.J. cranberries thriving as U.S. yield falls

They're obscured in vast fields of leafy vines where they're slowly changing color from lighter hues to blush. Deeper reds will appear in a few weeks, just before the autumn harvest.

Across historic Whitesbog in Burlington County and at 34 other New Jersey farms, cranberries are thriving. The state's production is expected to increase about 5 percent this year.

That rosy forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture came this week as officials projected a 10 percent drop in the nation's cranberry output and a steady rise in worldwide demand.

"We'll have a better crop this year, maybe quite a bit better," said Joe Darlington, one of several family members who have farmed Whitesbog in Pemberton Township since the 19th century.

Yesterday, farmers from New Jersey and elsewhere gathered for the American Cranberry Growers Association meeting in Chatsworth to discuss issues affecting their industry, including the USDA report and the effects of the weather.

The big cranberry-producing states of Wisconsin and Massachusetts have been hurt by the year's lower-than-normal temperatures and greater-than-normal precipitation, said Richard Nieuwenhuis, president of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, a 13,000-member trade organization that represents farmers and support industries.

When the mercury dips, "the bees don't want to do their thing, and the vines don't grow out quite as well and are later," he said. "The crop is not as heavy and vibrant."

At Whitesbog, Darlington has a kind of insurance policy.

"We stock bees," he said. With spring so cool and wet, "we put in more of them because there was little time for them to work. There's no way you can count on the native pollinators."

Even so, Darlington said, "we wondered whether we'd have pollination."

New Jersey's weather has been akin to what Wisconsin normally receives, said Raymond J. Samulis, agricultural agent of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service of Burlington County.

"There was probably a 10-degree differential," Samulis added. "If it's too cool, the honey bees, bumblebees, and other wild pollinators don't come out."

Massachusetts is expected to have the sharpest decline in cranberry output, with experts predicting a drop of 20 percent from last year's record high. The weather reduced pollination, and late frosts damaged some bogs, the USDA report said.

Wisconsin, the nation's largest cranberry producer, with about 60 percent of the crop, is projected to see an 11 percent decrease. Bogs in that state have been recovering after record production last year.

The USDA forecast production increases in New Jersey as well as in Oregon and Washington, all due to favorable weather. Pennsylvania doesn't have cranberry farms, according to the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

New Jersey's crop is predicted to rise 5 percent; Oregon growers are looking at a 23 percent spike, and Washington's crop is likely to be 42 percent larger than last year's.

The cranberry industry has spurred demand by emphasizing the fruit's health benefits and by pushing products such as the sweet, dried cranberries that keep the product on menus and shelves year-round. The dried berries are used in various recipes, as well as baked goods, trail mixes, and cereals.

The preponderance of the industry's growth has come in the international market. Growers have gone from exporting less than 10 percent of the crop to exporting 25 percent now, industry experts said.

Massachusetts grower and processor John Decas, chairman of the board of Decas Cranberry Products Inc., said producers should be wary of oversupplying the market. Inventories remain high after last year's big yield and high prices.

"We will certainly not, as an industry, use that oversupply right away," he said. "It would appear that cranberries are going to have a lot less value than they had a year ago."

In New Jersey, 512,000 barrels of cranberries were produced last year with a price per barrel of $49.79. The crop was worth more than $25 million.

It remains to be seen what size crop will be harvested this year and what price the berries will bring.

"Rot is still an issue with wet weather," said Darlington, who will harvest 325 acres at Whitesbog.

"I've been doing this 30 years full time," he said "If you don't love it, you get out of it. It's a way of life."