Michigan cultivates a new industry: Cranberries

Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

Michigan agricultural officials see a big opportunity for jobs in a little red berry that is rapidly growing in popularity.

The state wants to expand the number of acres for cranberries, an endeavor that could grow nearly 500 jobs and give a struggling economy a $45 million boost.

But officials have to act quickly: Ocean Spray, the nation's leader in sales of cranberry products, says it needs to find 6,000 acres to cultivate cranberries by next year to satisfy a growing consumer demand in the U.S. and worldwide for the healthy fruit that's found in an increasing number of products from fruit juices to nut bars.

Michigan's half-dozen cranberry farms cover about 307 acres, a tiny slice of the 38,200 acres of cranberries that are grown nationwide. By contrast, the top cranberry-producing state, Wisconsin, cultivates 17,700 acres.

Michigan officials want to find up to 2,500 acres more. Converting that land to bogs to grow the berries would create 1,100 construction jobs.

"We think this is doable and it can help Michigan economically," said Bob Craig, who directs the agricultural development division at the Michigan Department of Agriculture. He said the value of Michigan's cranberry production was $2.25 million in 2007, the last year for which figures are available.

Farmer Mike DeGrandchamp hopes the state moves soon to nurture a fledgling industry that can create spinoff jobs, too.

"We have a golden opportunity to expand our cranberry industry, which will not only add to the agricultural base but also to the tourism industry," he said.

He said that when his farm harvests cranberries on the first Saturday in October, as many as 1,000 people come out to watch workers in thigh- deep water comb the top for the colorful berries.

Agriculture is growing

Admittedly, the jobs created by expanding cranberry farming would be dwarfed by the staggering losses in the manufacturing sector over the past decade. But Michigan's agri-food industry has been a bright spot in the state's battered economy.

A study released last month by Michigan State University economists determined the state's agricultural sector had an economic impact of $71.3 billion in 2007 -- up a healthy 12 percent from the year before.

Michigan grows more than 200 farm commodities and leads the nation in production of a number of them, including blueberries and tart cherries.

Craig said Michigan is also looking at future expansion of acreage for brambles, raspberries and blackberries "but right now our focus is on the up and coming cranberry."

Cranberries -- dubbed a "superfruit" because of the health benefits they are thought to provide in reducing urinary tract infections and battling off some cancers and heart disease -- come in a wide variety of products, from juices to muffins to sweetened dried snacks.

The market for dried cranberry treats tripled to $100 million from 2002 to 2006, Ocean Spray reports.

U.S. agriculture officials say the value of the nation's cranberry crop was $444 million last year, up 44 percent from 2007.

A window of opportunity

Michigan used to have "tens of thousands" of acres of cranberries growing wild across the state in the 1800s, Craig said. Development, lumbering, the Great Depression and a preference for other crops all led to the demise of the cranberry crop here. It began to slowly bounce back in the 1990s.

Erik Johnson, who heads the state's site review team, said he hopes to get into the fields to explore cranberry possibilities in the next couple of weeks, and will visit farms along Lake Michigan.

"I've had a half-dozen interested individuals call me," said Johnson, a soil specialist with the state Agriculture Department.

"Michigan has hundreds of thousands of acres that would be adequate for cranberries," he said. The best land to use is sandy, low in acidic soils and has plenty of water available.

Cost can be an issue

The biggest obstacle to growing cranberries is the expense. Building an acre-size cranberry bog costs as much as $35,000, Johnson said. Farmers have to replicate wetlands conditions, including the flooding of the bogs right before the October harvest.

"But it's kind of fun to see the cranberries in the fall," when they turn a pinkish-red, he said. Some top-producing cranberry states such as Massachusetts incorporate the harvest into their tourism industry.

DeGrandchamp grows 35 acres of cranberries on the half-century-old farm in South Haven started by his parents. The cranberries were added to the blueberry farm in 1994.

"Cranberry pricing has been so good that it's really a viable crop to grow right now," he said.

DeGrandchamp, director of the Michigan Cranberry Council, said if Michigan doesn't come up with additional acreage for cranberry farming, the farms will simply locate in Canada or offshore.

"The window won't be here long and if we hem and haw, it will go elsewhere. If that happens, we would be left holding the bag once again, losing an industry we could have had."