Cranberry comeback

AccuWeather

AccuWeather's Ali Reid stepped into a cranberry bog in Chatsworth, New Jersey, to explore how this year's harvest has rebounded after last year's drought left farmers facing a crisis.

Transcript

00:00We're live from Lee Brothers Farm in Chatsworth, New Jersey.

00:03A little chilly this morning, but that is not stopping the team here from starting their harvest.

00:09The harvest officially started yesterday here on the farm.

00:13And look at them going.

00:14I mean, it really is remarkable what they've started to do so far this season.

00:18And the cranberry looks absolutely gorgeous.

00:22Join with me live this morning, Jen Lee.

00:24Good morning.

00:25From the Lee family.

00:26Yes, indeed.

00:27How are you? It's gorgeous here this morning.

00:29It's been great. Yes, it is a beautiful morning.

00:30The harvest started yesterday.

00:32I was here for that rainy day.

00:34But you guys said we're happy because that's exactly what you guys want.

00:38You want the rain for the cranberries.

00:40We will take it.

00:41Any bit that we have, we will take it.

00:43Talking about the harvest last year.

00:45You know, we spoke to your dad earlier.

00:46You guys came off of a year of crisis.

00:48It was a hard year for you guys.

00:50You made it through, which is good.

00:51But now the question everyone has is, how are you guys looking this season?

00:55I think we're looking great.

00:56I mean, after last year, all we can say is onward.

01:00I mean, we did what we needed to get by and we survived.

01:03And now here we are again.

01:05And it's looking good.

01:07I'm really happy to hear that because obviously so many farms struggled.

01:11But the good thing is, is that things are looking good.

01:14It looks amazing.

01:15I want to just grab them with all my hands and just like start eating them.

01:18I'm not going to do that though, I promise.

01:20But what I want to do is I want to talk about the operation behind us here.

01:23There's a lot of things happening.

01:25So if you can, kind of on a broader scope, walk us through what's happening behind us right now.

01:29So essentially, you have walked into a bog that we have already corralled and pulled all the berries in.

01:34And now behind us, we have a suction box that is actually pulling the berries down.

01:41And it's taking it up into the machine where they simply get washed off.

01:45The clean berries get loaded into the trailer.

01:47And then actually we're recycling water at the same time.

01:50So the water that we use to wash the berries is coming over top of the tractor and into a trash truck.

01:56Because we're always recycling our water.

01:59And so this process, and I want to back up just for a second too.

02:03Because the bog that we're in, this is not what it looks like on a daily basis.

02:08These cranberries grow on vines.

02:10And then you fill, wait, what is it?

02:12Fill the bog?

02:13Flood the bog.

02:14I'm going to get it right, I promise.

02:16You flood the bog to be able to get those berries once you use the picker to bring them to the top.

02:21To then use them to get them out of here.

02:23So there really is an incredible process here.

02:26But how long does that growth take to get to the point where you guys are picking?

02:30Well, I mean, as far as the process of it all, we've really cut down and made it much more efficient.

02:36We don't need as much water to pick anymore.

02:39The old picker that we used to have, we needed to flood the bog for at least 24 hours.

02:43We don't do that anymore.

02:44So we need a lot less water, which also helps us out in the long run.

02:48Now the last thing is, you guys are filling the truck right now.

02:50We only have a few more seconds here.

02:52But you guys will take those cranberries off to the facility.

02:55And fun fact, you guys are owner-growers, a part of Ocean Spray.

03:00So if you drink the cranberry juice, the Ocean Spray, you guys provide those cranberries.

03:05It's really amazing.

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