In view of the plummeting cranberry prices and the country's ongoing trade wars, America's cranberry industry is now eyeing a possible new savior: solar power. Some cranberry farmers in Massachusetts, the nation's second largest grower after Wisconsin, are proposing to build solar panels above the bogs they harvest each fall.
It's a novel approach to blending renewable energy technology with traditional farming that's been researched across the world but hasn't been tried before on large-scale, commercial crop cultivation, according to solar power and agricultural industry experts. The idea is to build solar arrays high enough off the ground and in more spaced-out clusters to allow for crops to be safely grown and harvested underneath.
Cranberry farmers hope to shoulder lean times for their industry by gleaning extra revenue — in the form of long-term land leases with solar developers — while still producing the same quality berries they have for generations. An ongoing, nationwide study also suggests certain crops in particular climates can thrive under solar panels, though it's unclear at this point how cranberries will fare.
Price drop
The price of cranberries has plummeted 57% over the last decade, from roughly $58 a barrel (about 100 pounds) in 2008 to $25 in 2018, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data . But Wick says the cost to produce the tart red berries in Massachusetts is nearly $35 a barrel.
The USDA permitted industry to dump millions of pounds of fruit in 2017 and 2018 in order to stabilize prices, but the country's ongoing trade disputes with Europe and China are further compounding the struggles for an industry that previously exported about 30% of its product, Wick said.
