Cranberry Growers Flooded with Funding
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3-In the middle of one of the worst growing seasons in 15 years, Massachusetts cranberry growers have received some good news: $460,000 in federal funds for water conservation efforts and agricultural research is expected to come their way.
“The cranberry industry is a vital part of the southeastern Massachusetts economy and culture,” Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) said in a press release. “These funds will help area growers operate more efficiently and in ways that promote environmental preservation.”
The money was included in the Agriculture appropriations bill that the House passed last week. The Senate must approve the bill for it to become law.
Massachusetts growers produced 180 million pounds of cranberries in 2004, second only to Wisconsin’s harvest, said Jeffrey LaFleur, executive director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association. This year, however, the yield has been significantly lower than the 170 million pounds projected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, likely the result of an unusually cold winter followed by an unseasonably dry summer, LaFleur said.
The majority of the money-$300,000-would be used to pay for two conservation planners, who would work with cranberry growers, evaluating farms’ water resources and creating strategies for managing them.
These funds will be administered through the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which has received money for this purpose since 2002.
“The overwhelming issue is that we need access to clean, fresh water and we need to conserve that water,” LaFleur said.
The remaining $160,000 would be spent on cranberry and blueberry research at University of Massachusetts facilities in Dartmouth and West Wareham. This would be the sixth straight year that UMass has received such a grant.
Researchers are investigating ways of predicting and preventing cranberry disease and techniques for controlling insects and weeds, said Carolyn DeMoranville, director of the UMass cranberry station in West Wareham. These findings, she said, could help cranberry growers save money, use more environmentally friendly farming methods, and increase crop yields.
“It’s really important to stay scientifically in the forefront if we’re going to remain competitive as a cranberry-growing region,” DeMoranville said.
Approximately 400 cranberry growers operate in Massachusetts, concentrated in Barnstable, Bristol and Plymouth Counties, LaFleur said. More than 70 percent of these farmers, however, cultivate less than 20 acres of land, and many work only part time.
The federal funds are especially effective at addressing specific, local needs, said Tom Bewick, national program leader in horticulture for the Department of Agriculture agency that manages the conservation grants.
“From the standpoint of local and regional agricultural problems, these grants have had a big impact,” Bewick said.
