Maine growers embrace intense demand after the holiday season

Tracyn Thayer said she didn’t expect many cranberries this year, in part because winter flooding destroyed her irrigation pond south of Bethel.

But when she went to her 2-acre farm with a weeder to clear up the tall grass, she discovered some beautiful, deep red berries peeking out from under the blades.

All in all, Maine cranberry growers had a good season, said Charles Armstrong, a cranberry expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, which helps farms with pest control. By his calculations, the state’s 20 farms harvested approximately 500,000 pounds of berries, which equates to about $850,000 for growers. Now, growers must navigate the intense demand that comes with the holiday season.

This year, Thayer picked only about 500 pounds of cranberries, compared to 7,200 pounds from her first year in operation. But buyers are still asking for more, she said.

“I have no more to sell,” she said.

This is her fourth season of Birch Bog Farm in Albany Township, but the first on her own. It was not an easy year as she dealt with a divorce, difficult weather and maintenance around the bog. She still works full-time in accounting at Apex Group. But Thayer and her mother spent about two weeks sorting the berries and filled about 30 boxes to sell, she said.

Thayer sold his berries to the Good Food Store in Bethel, Fair Share Market in Norway and Goranson Farm in Norway. During a good season, she expands the list to include places like Rosemont Market, Royal River Natural Foods and food cooperatives in Portland and in New Hampshire in Littleton and Concord.

Thayer, like many Maine cranberry farmers, picks his crops dry using a mechanical harvester that looks like a lawnmower with a rake attached. The harvest starts at the beginning of October.

While many people associate cranberry farms with flooded bogs like those seen in Ocean Spray commercials, Armstrong said dry picking extends shelf life. Flooding the berries is the easiest and fastest way to harvest, but the moisture causes the berries to go bad faster. That’s why it’s ideal for juice products, he said.

Typically, Maine cranberries cost about $1.75 per pound, a staggering difference from the 20 cents per pound cost of flooded crops. Organic crops can easily go to $5 a pound, he said.

Thayer’s organic cranberries are certified by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. People who buy directly from the farm pay $7 per pound, $7.50 if they must have the berries packed. She charges $6 per pound wholesale, and she recommends grocers sell around $8.95 to $9.95 per pound.

Karen Sparrow, who owns Sparrow Farm in Pittston, said she’s not sure exactly how many pounds she harvested, but her 3 acres of bogs were full. Armstrong said she must have had a big crop this year.

While she and her husband started the farm in 1978, her husband built the three cranberry bogs during the state’s push to grow the cranberry industry in the early 1990s. The sandy soil of the marshes helps the plants reproduce for years. In winter, the marshes are flooded to protect the plants’ vines.

Since her husband died, Sparrow said she and her team of eight have worked harder to keep up with demand and last-minute requests for cranberries.

The farm delivers the cranberries and eggs to customers on a regular route that stretches as far south as Kittery. She met her customers over the years and charges $7 per pound or $7.50 per pound when packed in plastic clamshells.

Portland Food Co-op’s produce manager Ryan Ference said he had to do an “emergency run” to get more of Sparrow’s cranberries in stock because it’s been so busy. The store has been selling about 50 pounds a week, even before the holiday rush started.

A YEAR BACK

He said the store is fortunate to have good relationships with local farms and farmers like Sparrow.

“Everybody had a really tough year last year,” he said. “Crops suffered. So this year has been a pretty phenomenal start-up year for all farms.”

The co-op also has cranberries from Ricker Hill Orchards, which Armstrong said is one of the state’s largest growers with 10 acres. The largest grower is Mingo’s Products in Calais, which has 17 acres.

Last week, Armstrong bought several packages of Ricker Hill cranberries at Hannaford and could not find a single rotten berry. It is a testament to the high quality of this year’s harvest across the country, he said.

“The color is really amazing,” he said. “A nice deep red color that Maine is kind of famous for. We have colder temperatures leading right up to harvest time. The cold nights really make the deep red color form.”

A staple on Thanksgiving dinner tables, the berries can last even longer when frozen. Sparrow recommends adding them to cereal or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

WELL BAKED

Atsuko Fujimoto, a recognized baker who owns Norimoto Bakery in Portland’s Deering Center, said she buys all local fruit for her cakes, including Maine-grown cranberries from local supermarkets and a wholesaler called Native Maine Produce.

She often goes for Ricker Hill cranberries. The fruit is reliable and is not as hard to find compared to other fruits like blueberries, she said.

Right now, Norimoto’s menu features a buckle — a classic New England dessert — and a cranberry custard, which Fujimoto makes every Thanksgiving and said is a customer favorite. She makes about 100 of each dessert a week, about 1,200 of each per season.

Fujimoto said that when the season changes, she likes to swap out the buckle’s blueberry topping for cranberries.

She said the best way to bake with cranberries is to balance it with something sweeter, like the sweetened condensed milk she uses for the pies. Leftover cranberry sauce tastes good over ice cream, she said. But personally, she said she loves the tart taste of the berry.

“I can’t think of any other berries that last this long in the fridge. It’s such a stable berry,” she said. “I think it’s the easiest berry you can work with.”

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