Cranberry farms in Massachusetts — the second largest cranberry producing state in America — have needed to adapt to climate extremes and unpredictability on account of local weather change.
American farmers rising cranberries, a quintessential element of Thanksgiving feasts, have needed to adapt their conventional strategies to battle the consequences of local weather change.
The tart purple berries, boiled with a heaping dose of sugar to make basic cranberry sauce, thrive solely in the precise setting—however local weather change threatens to make situations extra unpredictable and excessive.
After a horrible 2021 season, Massachusetts farmer Billy McCaffrey is ecstatic for a bumper crop this yr.
“Phenomenal, unbelievable,” the 70-year-old former instructor says, surrounded as much as his waist by a sea of floating berries.
His cranberry farm, south of Boston, is considered one of a whole lot within the northeastern US state of Massachusetts—the second largest producer after midwestern Wisconsin.
“Every yr is up and down… I simply hope we are able to hold it and receives a commission,” says McCaffrey, worrying that an sudden hail storm may nonetheless trigger catastrophe for him and his spouse Mary.
The McCaffreys had anxious that 2022 may see a repeat of the earlier yr, which the pinnacle of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association (CCCGA), Brian Wick, says was “considered one of our worst crops in fairly a while.”
“The rains and the setting within the vine cover created the right situations for rot (and) fungus” the skilled instructed AFP.
Billy McCaffrey, 70, says a protracted drought burned out a piece of his Taunton, Massachusetts cranberry lavatory.
‘Double Whammy’
This yr’s rising season began with a drought, the precise reverse of final yr, however farmers have been ready to make use of pumps and water to maintain their crops alive.
That eats into their backside line.
Now this yr seems to be like one of many largest crops ever with a prediction of 1.9 million barrels (189 million kilos) produced in Massachusetts in line with the CCCGA.
Keith Mann, 54, has outfitted his massive farm in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, with photo voltaic panels to assist offset gas prices. He has additionally put in a number of windmills on his property and sells electrical energy again to the grid.
Though he is unsure the common temperatures have noticeably elevated, Mann says the “climate extremes trigger actual troubles for us.”
“We had drought all summer time… Then late in the summertime we had torrential downpours, (which) brought about flooding, and the flooding causes fungal infections.”
Cranberries are loaded right into a truck after being sorted and rinsed at Mann Farms in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
Massachusetts farmers are ecstatic over this yr’s crop after a horrible season in 2021.
“Too a lot rain is an issue. Not sufficient rain a lot of the season was one other downside. Put them collectively it is a double whammy,” mentioned Mann.
As for this yr’s Thanksgiving and people within the relative close to future, Americans need not rush and refill on cranberry sauce simply but.
Farmers are adapting to the altering local weather and producing new varieties to be processed by the huge Ocean Spray farm cooperative in Massachusetts.
“Thanksgiving, we stand up for that. It drives us” mentioned McCaffrey.
“You’re going to have to vary your approach and tweak it a little bit bit at a time.”
Northeastern farmers face new challenges with extreme drought
© 2022 AFP
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Cranberry farmers battle local weather change to guard Thanksgiving staple (2022, October 18)
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