When you say Wisconsin, you say cranberries! Wisconsin is the international leader in cranberry production, yielding 60 percent of the world’s crop. Furthermore, University of Wisconsin (UW) research has helped Badger growers achieve this.

Several years ago, I had the chance to photograph the growing process at Dr. Fred Prehn’s operation, start to finish, except I did not view the process in the winter, when sand is put down over the frozen bogs. I published a photo book, which I am appending to this story.

Growing cranberries begins in the spring. A road trip through Wisconsin Rapids, Warrens, Pittsville, Nekoosa, and Tomah in the fall will reveal cranberry marshes in full bloom and bright red berries floating atop water pumped into them. The land in these areas is flat, the marshes or bogs are easily seen, and their bright red color at harvest time is fun to see. 

The cranberry country is best experienced during the harvest when the berries are red, popping out at you against the fall foliage. The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers have identified a “Cranberry Highway” to help you see the marvels of the crop.

You might stop at any one of the fall cranberry festivals in these areas. Warrens boasts that it is the “Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin” and the host of the “world’s largest cranberry festival.” 

The cranberry plant is a vine-like perennial. Its roots find their home in sandy, acidic bogs. The vine grows in beds, the stems bear small leaves, flowers appear, and the berries form. Growing cranberries requires a lot of water. It flows from a source through pumping stations, into reservoirs, and then into irrigation ditches surrounding the cranberry beds. 

The cranberry requires pollination, a task best done by bees, which transfer the pollen grains to the flower. Most of the flowers do not produce berries, however. Two to seven flowers might produce one to three berries. 

By mid-summer, the berries will pop, and some flowers will remain and fall off. By October, the berries form to create a sea of red. 

The harvest is a hoot! Water from the irrigation system is pumped into the bogs to cover the beds. The harvester cuts the berries from the vines and leaves the red berries floating on the water behind.

The next task is to corral the berries and send them through washing machines and then into a bin where they are separated from the water. The berries go up a conveyor belt into a waiting truck to be taken to the distributor or buyer. 

Once the harvest is complete, the marshes are flooded once more and allied to freeze. This protects the submerged vines. Part of the pre-winter process involves covering the ice with sand, lots of sand. In the following spring, the ice will start to melt and sand filters down to provide new rooting capacity for the existing vines.

Only a fraction of the crop is sold as fresh fruit. The rest is used to produce other products for the market.

Hats off to UW researchers who have spent decades of investigations and experimentation to produce the best possible and most sustainable crops. The growing season in Wisconsin is short. One effect is that the state’s cranberries contain less pigment than those in locations with longer growing seasons. 

UW-Madison research has “developed a new and distinct variety of cranberry, called ‘HyRed,’ which is an early-maturing, high-color cranberry hybrid.” Its researchers say, “HyRed is of value in all agricultural regions, but is particularly suitable for regions with short growing seasons.”

UW-Madison has a fun story about how its researchers have helped a family farm in Necedah. They have produced a cranberry variety they call “The Sweetie,” which, when bitten, is white inside with … a natural sweetness that may unlock new markets or offer clues for future cultivars.”

When reading this story, I got a kick out of Rocky Biegel, a grower. He noted that only a small percentage of the berries harvested are sold as fresh fruit. He picked a few berries from the crop at Cranberry Creek and commented about those destined for the fresh market,

“Well, these don’t have any dents.”

He wants the cranberries sent to the fresh market to have no dents!

Native Americans began growing and harvesting cranberries in the 1850s, perhaps earlier. The glaciers covering much of Wisconsin began melting some 15,000 to 19,000 years ago, forming a glacial lake in central Wisconsin that covered some 1,800 square miles and measured as much as 150 feet deep. 

At some point in the melting process, an ice dam that had formed broke loose and flooded the region. The flood cut deep, narrow gorges, and the water eroded the sandstone.

The result was acidic soil with a high water table and lots of sand, perfect conditions for growing cranberries.

Wisconsin cranberry growers are expected to harvest 5.3 million barrels of cranberries in 2025, which is expected to account for 67 percent of the US supply. 

UW-Madison has said cranberries are an “almost $1 billion industry that employs nearly 4,000 people in Wisconsin. Cranberry marshes cover 21,000 acres of Wisconsin’s land. Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state, with more than 60 percent of the United States’ production coming from the state.”

Oh yes, when you say Wisconsin, say cranberries and cheese!  😂