![]() ![]() "But we've never heard of another farm that grows both cranberries and wild rice." "Both crops need water at different times, so there's a ton of value in farming them together," Shannon said. The Forsters pump water between a reservoir and the cranberry and rice fields throughout the year, recycling as much of it as they can. Similar to wild rice (which the Forsters also grow, along with soybeans, oats and wheat), commercially cultivated cranberries are grown in a series of small plots surrounded by dikes and canals to hold and transfer water. "To turn red, cranberries need sunlight and cold temperatures," she said. They're all ready for harvest, Shannon explained, it's just that the lighter colored ones don't get as much sun exposure and tend to stay warmer. The visible cranberries are bright red, while those beneath are pink or white. Most of the time, the fields look dry as those underfoot, which contains hundreds of berries per square foot. The Forsters flood their 50 acres of berries several times a year, but only for a period of days. Walking across one of the family's soon-to-be-flooded fields, covered with a low, dense network of cranberry vines, Shannon said that the biggest misconception about cranberries is that they grow in water. And it's all-hands-on-deck during harvest season. During the growing season, she takes responsibility of the farm's daily operations. ![]() Shannon, the youngest of the family's three daughters, took advantage of postsecondary enrollment options during high school and earned an associate degree, knowing she wanted to focus on farming. "You're still my little brother, and I'm still your boss." "I always joke with him: You can't be too smart, because you can't take my job," Shannon said. ![]() With both mom and dad working off the farm as truck drivers, 21-year-old Shannon has taken the reins as manager and her brother, Nathan, 15, is the primary farmhand, homeschooling so he can prioritize the family business. Now they're training the next generation. The Forsters bought their farm after a large East Coast cranberry grower had developed the bogs for growing the fruit, just as its price crashed. "We take a lot of pride in what we do," Shannon said.įarm manager Shannon Forster checks the plants in one of her family’s cranberry fields before it’s flooded for harvest.įor more than two decades, Shannon's parents, Randy and Billie Jo, have ridden the ups and downs of cultivating a specialty crop that's temperature-sensitive and can be easily damaged by heavy equipment. And though northern Minnesota's peatlands have similar, cranberry-conducive conditions - sandy, acidic soil, abundant fresh water, a climate that's both hot and cold - the Forsters are the state's only commercial growers.Īs they transition operations to the second generation, the Forsters continue to refine their growing and harvesting techniques so they can produce their niche crop as sustainably as possible. Wisconsin produces more than half of the country's crop. has long been the world's largest grower of cranberries, which are among the few commercially important fruits native to North America. Their high levels of health-promoting antioxidants have made them a valuable food and medicine for Indigenous people for centuries. The tart berries are a staple of the Thanksgiving table, yet tend to spend the rest of the year pushed to the back of the freezer or pantry - the fruit world's crimson-hued stepchild.īut cranberries have deep cultural, economic and historic significance in the United States. "Everybody probably gets dunked once a year," Shannon admitted. Because on a chilly October morning, you don't want to lose your footing. Though each berry weighs hardly anything, dragging thousands of them across the bog requires plenty of strength.Īnd agility. Or a chic Instagram backdrop.īut for Shannon Forster and her family, cranberry harvest is a job that doubles as a CrossFit-grade workout.įorster and her uncle, wearing waders in knee-deep water, pull on each end of a long, floating boom that encircles a load of cranberries. The tiny floating berries, corralled in the corner of a flooded bog, are nearly a foot deep - practically begging to be scooped up, swirled, or dived into. ![]() Harvest season at Minnesota Cranberry Co., near Aitkin, looks like a crimson-colored carpet spread over a pond. ![]()
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