[1]                                                                                                            [2]                                                                                                                  [3]

Wisconsin's Cranberry Industry: In 1991, Wisconsin's cranberry crop totalled around 78 million dollars [6].  Since then the industry has grown nationwide, and in 2005 Wisconsin produced roughly 59 percent of the nation's crop at roughly 124.4 million dollars [7]. The massive cranberry-growers co-operative, Oceanspray, attracts plenty of Wisconsin's farmers; 70 percent of the state's cranberry acreage belongs to Oceanspray members [8].  

Growing Cranberries:

Selecting and preparing the site for a cranberry bog are the first, crucial steps because, "on average, every acre of cranberry bog is supported by 4 to 10 acres of wetlands, woodlands and uplands" [9].  Poor fens along the northern part of the St. Croix River have the acidic soil, water supply, and sand needed to grow cranberries.  The optimal pH level is between 4.0 and 5.5, and if the soil is not within a few decimals of this range, adjusting the pH level is expensive and impractical.  A bog needs plenty of water, as well.  An estimated six acre-feet per acre of fruit are needed each year to harvest a productive crop.  Due to this, "production involves pumping water from adjacent wetlands or lakes, irrigating and flooding the below-grade cranberry beds for harvest and frost protection, and then discharging the water back to the lake or river from which it came through a series of ditches, dikes, and dams. The discharged water contains the phosphorus fertilizers and residues of pesticides that were applied during the growing season.  The end result is relatively clean water coming into the bog, and relatively polluted water pouring out" [10]. To maintain water supply and ecosystem control, farmers build dams, reservoirs, ditches, and dikes. 
 

Most farmers use fertilizers in cranberry fields, containing nitrogen and phosphorous, although cranberries require few nutrients in addition to what the soil provides.  To manage unwanted plants or insects, farmers may spray herbicides or insecticides if needed.  Using Integrated Pest Management practices, however, farmers closely monitor their fields year-round and count the number of pests present before applying any pesticide.

Who is Involved:  

Policy:

Two pieces of legislation that have made significant impacts on the production of cranberries are the Food Security Act of 1985, or the Swampbuster Act, and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.  Under the Swampbuster Bill, farmers growing crops on prior-covnerted cropland, land used for agriculture that used to be wetland, becone inelgible for government benefits such as disaster payments, commidity price support, crop insurance, or loans.  Farmers are exempt from this legislation if their land was converted from wetland to cropland before December 23, 1985.  Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires propety holders to obtain permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers before putting fill material into wetlands or bodies of water, i.e. “draining” wetlands [14].  Certain activities, such as the maintenance of pre-existing drainage ditches, are exempt from Section 404.