Posted on 01/18/2008 5:52:04 PM PST by Coleus
-snip-
Consumers may have to look harder and pay more for their fresh berries. But it's good news for New Jersey farmers, who will get paid a premium for their crop. "I heard through the co-op that there's a demand," said Sam Moore, a cranberry farmer in Tabernacle. "I hope it continues."
Moore's farm, like many others in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey, is part of a national farming cooperative that supplies Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., and other companies with hundreds of millions of pounds of fresh cranberries annually. New Jersey accounts for 7 percent of the crop, behind only Wisconsin and Massachusetts in cranberry production.
Chris Phillips, Ocean Spray spokesman, said only about 3 percent of that national harvest is set aside for fresh cranberries, while the rest is processed for cranberry juice, sauce and the company's newest product, sweetened and dried cranberries.
Cranberry harvests were plentiful this season in New Jersey, but Phillips said dry conditions in Wisconsin and Massachusetts led to shortfalls there. The dropoff wasn't dramatic, however. In fact, this year's North American crop was the second-biggest in history, just shy of last year's record 700 million pounds, or 7 million barrels. "It's short, but it's short of a pretty darn big crop," he said.
-snip-
New Jersey has 35 member farmers, and they produce about 485,000 barrels of fruit annually. But, ironically, nearly all the fresh cranberries on grocery shelves here come from Massachusetts, because that state's fruit has the best color.
Joe Darlington, president of J.J. White Co. in Browns Mills, New Jersey's second-largest cranberry producer, said his farm this year has an experimental arrangement with Ocean Spray where it set aside "a lot less than 1 percent" of its crop to sell as fresh berries to Whole Foods and Wegmans Food Markets
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Love the ‘shortage’ of the ‘second largest harvest in history.’
Damned cranberry speculators. LOL
I like cranberries, but isn’t it a bit past the “holiday season”?
You mean you don't consume cranberry jelly on MLK Day? Where's your "MLK Spirit"?
Don’t think that’s celebrated in Texas.
Was reading an article in one of the local papers this morning that was from 05. Several comments, by those who caught the date as to why this was news NOW? LOL
It happens. This caught my eye as I cook dried cranberries in my morning oatmeal, hadn’t noticed a price increase.
Go Pineys!
Last I looked MLK day was an official holiday in Texas. I also know that “Juneteenth” is celebrated widely among the black population of Texas.
I like the dried ones included in some of the “healthy” cereals. With turkey, we always have what I call “canned berries”. :)
It is recognized now, didn’t used to be. Today is Confederate Heroes Day.
I have been hearing that NJ has had a plentiful harvest of cranberries this year. Family in PA have been asking me about it - that’s who I heard it from. I didn’t realize cranberries were so popular. But, yeah, the dried cranberries, cranberry juice... I guess so.
*Today* is Gen. Robert E Lee’s 201st birthday.
:)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.