Some of these Ocean Spray cranberries come from a bog in Massachusetts

MIDDLEBORO, Mass. (AP) — Weeks before Thanksgiving, some of the cranberries that come on dinner plates On Thursday, the Rocky Meadow bog in southeastern Massachusetts floated.

The cranberries have turned this pond pinkish red. Several workers, waist-deep in water, carefully hold the berries toward a pump that vacuums them onto a waiting truck. The berries are passed through a system that separates them from the leaves and vines and transported to processing plants that eventually turn them into sauce, juice or sweet and dried berries.

The native wetland plants that produce cranberries begin to grow in May. When they are ready to be harvested, farmers flood their bogs with water and send out a picker to shake the berries from the vines. Then more water is added to the mash and the freed cranberries float to the surface.

“The season has been pretty good this year. We’ve had a pretty good crop,” said Steve Ward, a second-generation cranberry grower, on the edge of his bog.

The harvest runs from September to early November, and Ward is expected to produce between 15,000 and 20,000 barrels, the best crop he’s had in three years. About 80% of these berries will go to Ocean Spray, a massive manufacturer of cranberry products in the United States

This bog is one of nearly 300 in Massachusetts, covering about 14,000 acres, and this year farmers are expected to produce 2.2 million barrels of cranberries, one barrel weighing 100 pounds (45 kg). This is an increase of 12% compared to last year. Massachusetts is the second largest cranberry producing region in the US behind Wisconsin, and the industry there dates back to the 19th century.

Despite the sector’s size, farmers in the state have weathered numerous challenges over the years, from trade wars to falling prices to an abundance of berries. Some have sold out their marshes or moved to diversify by putting solar panels around their bogs. Ward has two solar panels near his marshes and is considering putting floating solar panels on his waterholes and reservoirs.