US: Wisconsin to retain top spot in cranberry output

Wisconsin is likely to retain its number one spot in the US in cranberry production for the fifteenth straight year.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Wisconsin will yield 4.0 million barrels of cranberries. That would be below last year’s record harvest, but will still put the state at the top of the list.

A collection of producers, the Wisconsin Cranberry Cooperative, contributed to this year’s harvest, and had a new, state-of-the-art receiving station to work through near Warrens.

Cranberries processed through the station via the co-op are marketed directly to customers around the world.

Some of the markets for the berries are as far away as Japan. Ocean Spray and other large cranberry producers buy berries from the co-op and also processed some of their berries at the Copper Road station.

The new station allows the segregation of berries by individual producers when the fruit first comes to the loading area. The berries are then kept in a batch during the washing, drying and packaging processes.

Wisconsin cranberry producers provide nearly 60 percent of the nation’s supply of cranberries. They comprise the state’s largest fruit industry, contributing $350 million annually to the state’s economy and supporting, 7,200 jobs, according to the WSCA.



Source: commodityonline.com

Publication date: 11/5/2009

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