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[gentle music]

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- Karen Haugen: Thank you
for joining us this evening

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at the Sons of Norway
Mandt Lodge in Stoughton.

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Our lodge has been active
since 1926,

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and we are very excited
to be celebrating

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our 100th anniversary all year
and with a banquet in October.

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Tonight's presentation
is titled

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"Cranberries:
How Wisconsin Became the Best."

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And this is a crash course
in how the geography,

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climate, sociology, and farming
culture of Wisconsin all combine

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to make us the most productive
cranberry region in the world.

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Our speaker is Allison Jonjak.

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Allison grew up
in a cranberry marsh

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founded by her grandfather
in 1939,

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and after studying agricultural
engineering and soil chemistry,

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she worked with row crop farmers

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until
the University of Wisconsin

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created a Cranberry
Outreach Specialist position,

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which she happily took.

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That position has allowed
Allison to work in Wisconsin

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as a liaison between cranberry
growers and researchers--

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her favorite state
and her favorite crop.

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So, please join me
in welcoming Allison Jonjak

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and PBS Wisconsin.

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[audience applauds]

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- Allison Jonjak: Thank you
so much for having me.

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I'm Allison Jonjak.

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And I am really grateful
to be at such a beautiful place

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with such wonderful people
as yourselves.

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And I'm happy to share today

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about "Cranberries:
How Wisconsin Became Best,"

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and of course, also,
a little bit of background

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on the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.

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And you are likely familiar
with the teaching.

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You are likely familiar
with the research.

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Extension
is bringing into real life

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the Wisconsin vision,

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which is to bring the research
that's done at the university

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into the hands
of every Wisconsinite.

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So, typically, my role as
a Cranberry Outreach Specialist

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works directly with growers,
as well as researchers.

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This is a little bit of
a side tour out of my standard

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to get to communicate with the
rest of the people of Wisconsin

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about cranberries.

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So, thanks for giving me
the opportunity

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to step out of my normal role
and communicate with you all.

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"How Wisconsin Became Best,"
a crash course in the geography,

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climate, sociology,
farming culture

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of Wisconsin all combined

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to make us the most productive
cranberry region in the world.

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And we're gonna start off
with climate.

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When glaciers covered Wisconsin,

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cameras had
not been invented yet.

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And so, I've borrowed
a picture from Alaska.

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But you are all
certainly familiar

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with how glaciers
sculpted our state

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and flattened a good part
of the center of the state

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and left the rest
a little mountainous.

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You'll see
if you compare the map

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of where we grow
cranberries in Wisconsin.

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And this is a heat map,
so the darker a red color is,

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the more cranberries
are grown there.

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When you look at this map
of Wisconsin,

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you can see all of the areas

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where cranberry is grown
have a lot in common.

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And those things that they have
in common are water and sand,

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both that the glaciers left us,

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and then, most importantly,
acidic soils.

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This is a picture
of sphagnum moss,

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and this is one of the first--

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We can gloss and call it
a plant.

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One of the first plants
that came back

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and lived in Wisconsin again
after the glaciers.

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Sphagnum moss is
a very tenacious organism.

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It grabs nutrients and it holds
them really tightly.

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And it naturally has
this really low pH.

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And as sphagnum moss grows
and grows,

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it stacks up on top of itself,
and as it grows and dies,

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it compresses itself into peat.

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I took this picture up
in Newfoundland

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when I was working with the
cranberry growers there.

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In Wisconsin, we don't really do
much harvesting of our peat

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and selling it for gardeners,

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but in Newfoundland, Canada,
they still do.

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So, this is a picture
of what peat looks like

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when being excavated.

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So, the sphagnum moss--
The glaciers retreated.

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The sphagnum moss
kind of moved in.

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And then the first
vascular plants

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to be able to survive
in this really acidic,

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really harsh environment
are the ericoid species,

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which are cranberries.

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And this is a picture here
of cranberries

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and another ericoid species
of brown bush

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growing together in a
natural peatland in Wisconsin.

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And I'll go into a little more
depth on soil chemistry

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in a minute here.

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But the second most
important thing to cranberries

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after that acidic soil is water.

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Water is absolutely everything
for cranberry growers.

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The statewide average, there's
six acres of support land

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for every one acre of
commercial production cranberry.

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The purpose of that is,
as rain falls,

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they're able to collect
and have water on hand

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for cranberry use.

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And so, this is an image
of a cranberry marsh

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in the background.

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A new planting is being made
over there.

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That's the sandy color.

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And then you see
the native wetland

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that is just exactly how--

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exactly how nature
wanted it to be.

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And then, I've got, I guess,
a little bit more detail here.

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And you're probably familiar
with the settlement area era

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of Wisconsin,
when people were inviting

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new immigrants to come
and settle in Wisconsin,

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and they all talk about
how safe it is

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and how great the crops are.

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And I found
really great historical maps

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from the Vilas County
Historical Society.

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And I'm gonna zoom in here.

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They show good farm ground,
fair farm ground,

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low-productivity farm ground,
and then peat.

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And if you zoom in here,

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there's an awful lot of peat
in Vilas County.

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You'll see
that Vilas County

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is one of the more productive
cranberry counties.

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And I was able to find
the actual surveyor's notes

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from when they were
originally scouting this land.

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The surveyor notes,
"The land is all open swamp

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and marsh--
unfit for cultivation."

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So, they're doing their best
to say, "Hey, come to Wisconsin.

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"It's beautiful.

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"You'll have great farms.

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"But maybe not right here.

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"Maybe not where it's low pH.

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Maybe not where it's so
difficult for plants to thrive."

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And then,
as a trained soil chemist,

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I apologize for giving you
more soil chemistry

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than you might have wanted,

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but low pH environments are
really hard to live in.

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I don't know
how many times I can say that,

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and I'll still need to say it
again.

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But in this chart
where the bar is fattest,

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the mineral is most available.

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So, if you look at where corn
is grown,

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at, like, 6.2 to 6.8,

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you see that nitrogen's bar
is really, really available.

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So, at the pH that corn loves,

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it's easy for the plants
to take up nitrogen.

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It's easy for the plants
to take up phosphorus.

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It's easy for the plants
to take up potassium.

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I've added those red lines

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because that is
where cranberries love to live.

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And you can see that it's
really hard to get nitrogen.

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It's really hard
to get phosphorus.

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It's pretty hard
to get potassium.

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There's a whole lot of iron.

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That's nice, but mostly plants
need nitrogen,

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phosphorus, and potassium,
and sulfur to live.

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And so, the cranberries
are really fighting for this.

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I talk about
how the sphagnum moss

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holds on
really tightly to nutrients.

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And so does the soil
in those environments.

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If you have a nitrate ion

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and you put it
in the low pH environment,

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all of the Hs--

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the floating-- are gonna glom
onto that nitrate

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and you're gonna have
ammonium.

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So, there's just
not freely available nitrogen.

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So, cranberries evolved
to survive

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and thrive in this
really difficult circumstance.

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The way they do that is,

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there's these really cool
fibrous root mats.

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I was able to take these
pictures from Amaya Atucha's lab

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as the cranberry physiologist.

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I believe she's
a plant physiologist.

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But she does a lot of wonderful
work in cranberries.

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And grown hydroponically,

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the roots of cranberries
don't have root hairs,

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like your normal corn
or tomatoes do.

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They have these fibrous mats.

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And then next to that,

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I've got a picture
of a root that I pulled up.

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And, of course, it's
always a little less beautiful

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on its way out of the soil.

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But these roots,
unlike corn and tomatoes,

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which are actively trading
the soils for their nutrients,

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these roots are the home
of a bunch of mycorrhizal fungi.

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So, there are tiny
little fungal spores

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that live inside
the cranberry root tissue.

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The cranberry says,
"I'm really hungry.

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I need a phosphorus."

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And it sends out a hormonal cue
that is asking for phosphorus.

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The fungal spore wakes up
when it hears that hormone--

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It smells that hormone,
whatever.

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It wakes up, it...

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This fungus is able to grab
the phosphorus ion

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strongly enough from
the soil and the sphagnum moss

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that it gets
the phosphorus ion.

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It then tells
the cranberry plant,

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"Got your phosphorus ion."

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The cranberry
has photosynthesized

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and made a sugar.

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And so, the cranberry gives
the sugar to the fungus.

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The fungus gives
the phosphorus to the cranberry.

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The cranberry gets
the phosphorus it needs.

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And the fungus turns back into a
spore to wait for the next time

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the cranberry's hungry
for phosphorus.

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And so, this really,
really elaborate dance

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has to happen every time
the cranberry needs nutrients.

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And that is why so few plants
are able to survive

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in this really, really acidic,
difficult situation.

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Cool, and I guess it's--
Oh, I guess one other thing--

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If you were to take a corn seed
and plant it

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in the peat bog or the sand bog

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that is a cranberry marsh,
the corn plant would not--

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It would germinate
and it would use the sugar

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that was already in its seed.

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But then it would die,

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'cause it couldn't get
any more nutrients than that.

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It's just not able
to take them up

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'cause it didn't evolve in that
really harsh environment.

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This slide is just
a happy, little...

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"Did you know that the cranberry
gets its name from the mascot,

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the sandhill crane?"

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You can see the photo
of cranberry blossoms

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and how obviously those eating
crane shapes look together.

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And, of course, they occupy

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the same sort
of harsh territory.

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I'm gonna then transition
from the geography

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and the soil history and into a
little bit of Wisconsin culture.

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Mashkiigimin is the
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe word

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for cranberries.

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And I'm telling stories

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that I've gotten directly
from members of the LCO tribe.

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Their historical uses,

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culinarily, they were used
fresh.

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One thing that's neat is,
after--

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You might be aware that
cranberries are kind of tart

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and maybe not everyone's
favorite flavor

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if you don't have sugar,
and, indeed, the Anishinaabe

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did not have sugar
in those days.

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If you let a frost freeze
the berries a little bit

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after they're ripe,
they're somewhat sweeter.

246
00:11:13,774 --> 00:11:17,811
And so, they would--
They'll stay on the vine

247
00:11:17,878 --> 00:11:19,379
sweeter after a frost.

248
00:11:19,446 --> 00:11:22,049
And so, the tribe would often go
and harvest them

249
00:11:22,115 --> 00:11:23,784
after they'd frozen.

250
00:11:23,851 --> 00:11:28,088
But harvested before freezing,
they can be dried or smoked.

251
00:11:28,155 --> 00:11:30,591
They can be kind of boiled down
into sauces

252
00:11:30,657 --> 00:11:33,827
that provide a lot of valuable
vitamin C over the winter,

253
00:11:33,894 --> 00:11:36,029
when there's
not as much vitamin C available.

254
00:11:36,096 --> 00:11:37,731
And they can also be
mixed in pemmican,

255
00:11:37,798 --> 00:11:40,067
so a fatty meat
that can also be preserved

256
00:11:40,133 --> 00:11:42,536
and used over the winter
as a vitamin C source.

257
00:11:42,603 --> 00:11:45,739
Again, medicinal,
against scurvy in winters.

258
00:11:45,806 --> 00:11:47,908
The Anishinaabe are also aware

259
00:11:47,975 --> 00:11:52,012
of the urinary tract
health benefits of cranberries.

260
00:11:52,079 --> 00:11:54,882
There's uses as a tea
against diabetes

261
00:11:54,948 --> 00:11:58,252
that I have less of an innate
understanding of how that works.

262
00:11:58,318 --> 00:11:59,887
And then general health
that are,

263
00:11:59,953 --> 00:12:02,022
today, we kind of analogize to,

264
00:12:02,089 --> 00:12:04,191
"Okay, now we understand
that this is antioxidants."

265
00:12:04,258 --> 00:12:07,594
But the Anishinaabe were aware
of that as well.

266
00:12:07,661 --> 00:12:09,730
Cranberries are
still growing wild

267
00:12:09,796 --> 00:12:12,232
and picked wild
on the reservation.

268
00:12:12,299 --> 00:12:15,702
And then I'll add, also,
I know less personally--

269
00:12:15,769 --> 00:12:18,772
Just because I grew up near
the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe

270
00:12:18,839 --> 00:12:21,475
of Ojibwe,
I know more of those stories.

271
00:12:21,542 --> 00:12:24,178
I know less
of the Ho-Chunk stories.

272
00:12:24,244 --> 00:12:27,681
But cranberries are also really
important to the Ho-Chunk people

273
00:12:27,748 --> 00:12:29,917
and their--
You know,

274
00:12:29,983 --> 00:12:33,487
here's some nice photographs
of some Ho-Chunk workers

275
00:12:33,554 --> 00:12:35,956
harvesting cranberries by hand.

276
00:12:36,023 --> 00:12:38,592
So, that's kind of, like,
you know, after the glaciers,

277
00:12:38,659 --> 00:12:40,360
before the settlers.

278
00:12:40,427 --> 00:12:42,296
And then we'll kind of move
into Wisconsin's

279
00:12:42,362 --> 00:12:44,831
first commercial
cranberry marshes.

280
00:12:44,898 --> 00:12:51,471
These original cranberry growers
would largely live down south.

281
00:12:51,538 --> 00:12:53,440
And I say "down south,"
I mean Chicago.

282
00:12:53,507 --> 00:12:55,008
But they would...
[all laugh]

283
00:12:55,075 --> 00:12:56,844
They would
largely live down south

284
00:12:56,910 --> 00:12:58,879
and then either bring up
from Chicago

285
00:12:58,946 --> 00:13:01,882
or hire locally
harvesting crews.

286
00:13:01,949 --> 00:13:05,452
And they are
just huge harvesting crews.

287
00:13:05,519 --> 00:13:07,054
And with these huge
harvesting crews,

288
00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,924
they would pick
about six barrels to the acre.

289
00:13:10,991 --> 00:13:12,092
You say, "What's a barrel?"

290
00:13:12,159 --> 00:13:14,328
I say, "Here's some nice
photographs of barrels."

291
00:13:14,394 --> 00:13:16,230
Here are some sorting crews

292
00:13:16,296 --> 00:13:18,298
picking out rotten
or white berries

293
00:13:18,365 --> 00:13:20,601
and then packing
the cranberries into barrels

294
00:13:20,667 --> 00:13:22,669
for railroad train transport.

295
00:13:22,736 --> 00:13:25,138
Even though boxes stack
more easily,

296
00:13:25,205 --> 00:13:27,674
the cool thing about a barrel
is, one worker alone

297
00:13:27,741 --> 00:13:30,210
can rock it
until it's up on its side

298
00:13:30,277 --> 00:13:31,845
or rock it
until it's back down again,

299
00:13:31,912 --> 00:13:33,046
and then it can be rolled.

300
00:13:33,113 --> 00:13:35,382
So, it was easier
to carry a heavier weight.

301
00:13:35,449 --> 00:13:39,419
A barrel's a volume measurement
that's roughly 100 pounds.

302
00:13:39,486 --> 00:13:43,090
But then going back
to these folks picking,

303
00:13:43,156 --> 00:13:44,892
picking cranberries one by one

304
00:13:44,958 --> 00:13:48,061
would average
about six barrels to the acre.

305
00:13:48,128 --> 00:13:50,597
The last Ag Census in 2018,

306
00:13:51,465 --> 00:13:56,003
Wisconsin's average is
268 barrels to the acre.

307
00:13:56,069 --> 00:13:57,871
And you can see a little bit
of difference

308
00:13:57,938 --> 00:13:59,640
between the cranberry marsh
of today

309
00:13:59,706 --> 00:14:03,944
and the cranberry marsh
of the 1850s there.

310
00:14:04,011 --> 00:14:06,413
So, Wisconsin's
first commercial marshes.

311
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,482
I had mentioned, again,

312
00:14:08,549 --> 00:14:11,785
people would live southerly,
come up for the harvest,

313
00:14:11,852 --> 00:14:14,221
sell their fruit,
and then go back

314
00:14:14,288 --> 00:14:16,156
to where they actually lived.

315
00:14:16,223 --> 00:14:18,292
Taking off my university hat,

316
00:14:18,358 --> 00:14:22,162
legend has it
that there was a forest fire

317
00:14:22,229 --> 00:14:24,598
that wiped out
someone's cranberry marsh.

318
00:14:24,665 --> 00:14:27,000
And so, he brought his crew up
and he had, you know,

319
00:14:27,067 --> 00:14:28,802
his 200 people or whatever,
and they got there,

320
00:14:28,869 --> 00:14:30,204
and there were no cranberries
to harvest.

321
00:14:30,270 --> 00:14:32,206
And he-- "Oh, crap,
now I have to, you know...

322
00:14:32,272 --> 00:14:34,875
Okay, back to square one."

323
00:14:34,942 --> 00:14:36,577
So, he decided
to build a house there

324
00:14:36,643 --> 00:14:38,645
and live there all year 'round.

325
00:14:38,712 --> 00:14:40,447
Having lived there
all year 'round, he said,

326
00:14:40,514 --> 00:14:42,649
"Not only can I protect
against forest fires,

327
00:14:42,716 --> 00:14:48,589
but I can also protect against
winter frost, spring frost."

328
00:14:48,655 --> 00:14:51,992
And that is probably
the largest innovation

329
00:14:52,059 --> 00:14:55,829
that was able to raise yields
from six barrels to the acre

330
00:14:55,896 --> 00:14:58,332
to the level that we have now.

331
00:14:58,398 --> 00:14:59,566
I took a quick picture here

332
00:14:59,633 --> 00:15:02,970
just because it illustrates
in the winter,

333
00:15:03,036 --> 00:15:04,538
when there's a cold snap,

334
00:15:04,605 --> 00:15:07,374
cranberry growers raise
a flood over their crop

335
00:15:07,441 --> 00:15:10,544
and then they will drain-- Like,
they will let the cold snap

336
00:15:10,611 --> 00:15:13,514
freeze 12 to 18 inches of ice,

337
00:15:13,580 --> 00:15:15,315
and then they'll drain
the rest of the water

338
00:15:15,382 --> 00:15:16,483
out from under that.

339
00:15:16,550 --> 00:15:19,453
So, there will be
this igloo or ice blanket

340
00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,590
protecting the cranberry plant
over the course of the winter.

341
00:15:23,657 --> 00:15:26,426
That's necessary
because the cranberry

342
00:15:26,493 --> 00:15:29,062
has an 18-month crop cycle.

343
00:15:29,997 --> 00:15:33,133
In July,
as it's growing the fruit

344
00:15:33,567 --> 00:15:37,237
to be harvested in October,
it's also setting the bud

345
00:15:37,304 --> 00:15:40,908
that is going to become
the blossom the following June

346
00:15:40,974 --> 00:15:42,543
and the fruit the following July

347
00:15:42,609 --> 00:15:44,545
to be harvested
the following October.

348
00:15:44,611 --> 00:15:49,583
So, after the cranberry farmer
harvests this year's crop,

349
00:15:49,650 --> 00:15:52,953
that farmer is still protecting
next year's crop as well.

350
00:15:53,020 --> 00:15:55,222
So, that's
where this ice blanket comes in.

351
00:15:55,289 --> 00:15:58,125
And that was--
I can finish my legend

352
00:15:58,192 --> 00:16:01,361
and I can put my university hat
back on and say

353
00:16:01,428 --> 00:16:05,666
that the first cranberry growers
to optimize

354
00:16:06,567 --> 00:16:09,503
for cranberry production
started protecting from frost

355
00:16:09,570 --> 00:16:11,572
for that coming year.

356
00:16:12,539 --> 00:16:15,742
I'll talk just quickly about...

357
00:16:15,809 --> 00:16:18,946
This is a 1905 census,
even though it's a 1940 map,

358
00:16:19,012 --> 00:16:23,317
but showing where the different
immigrant populations settled

359
00:16:23,383 --> 00:16:25,652
in that first batch
of Wisconsin.

360
00:16:25,719 --> 00:16:29,456
And then one thing
that is neat to notice.

361
00:16:29,523 --> 00:16:32,759
I have a side hobby
as a folk dancer.

362
00:16:33,427 --> 00:16:35,629
And I had some friends
from the East Coast say,

363
00:16:35,696 --> 00:16:38,098
"Did you know this cool song

364
00:16:38,165 --> 00:16:41,602
from
turn-of-the-century Wisconsin?"

365
00:16:41,668 --> 00:16:44,438
You know, "All day in the
marshes, our rakes we will pull,

366
00:16:44,505 --> 00:16:46,773
"and we feel the best
when our boxes are full.

367
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:48,809
"In the evening, we'll dance
'til we're all tired out

368
00:16:48,876 --> 00:16:50,544
and wish the cranberries
would never give out."

369
00:16:50,611 --> 00:16:53,747
But it's a nice little poem
about everybody

370
00:16:53,814 --> 00:16:56,984
kind of coming together and
harvesting cranberries together

371
00:16:57,050 --> 00:17:00,254
after hay season,
after wheat season.

372
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:01,889
And this is kind of the last,

373
00:17:01,955 --> 00:17:04,892
the last late harvest
of the year.

374
00:17:04,958 --> 00:17:07,427
And I really enjoyed that.

375
00:17:08,395 --> 00:17:10,931
I used to try
to always give this talk

376
00:17:10,998 --> 00:17:12,833
when wearing
my "Wisconsin Cranberries" shirt

377
00:17:12,900 --> 00:17:15,736
that shows the cross section
of a cranberry.

378
00:17:15,802 --> 00:17:18,172
If you take a ripe,
fresh cranberry

379
00:17:18,238 --> 00:17:22,543
and you bite it in half, you'll
see basically this exact image.

380
00:17:22,609 --> 00:17:24,311
You'll see the seeds
clustered around the center

381
00:17:24,378 --> 00:17:26,213
and you'll see those pockets.

382
00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,715
The cranberry has a texture
that's like an apple.

383
00:17:28,782 --> 00:17:31,952
So, even if it didn't have the
pockets, it would still float.

384
00:17:32,019 --> 00:17:34,755
But the fact
that those cranberries float

385
00:17:34,821 --> 00:17:37,391
is what allows us to harvest

386
00:17:39,092 --> 00:17:41,762
in the modern way
that I'll be talking about

387
00:17:41,828 --> 00:17:43,830
in just a minute here.

388
00:17:45,799 --> 00:17:50,103
Cool, so, we've gotten
a little bit of chemistry,

389
00:17:50,170 --> 00:17:53,373
a little bit of geology,
a little bit of sociology.

390
00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:55,542
We're next gonna talk about
the culture of innovation

391
00:17:55,609 --> 00:17:57,678
and the culture of farming
in Wisconsin.

392
00:17:57,744 --> 00:17:59,713
And I have two photos here.

393
00:17:59,780 --> 00:18:05,419
After the innovation of using
ice to protect against cold,

394
00:18:05,485 --> 00:18:09,456
the next biggest innovation
in cranberry cultivation

395
00:18:09,523 --> 00:18:11,391
was sprinkler irrigation.

396
00:18:11,458 --> 00:18:13,861
So, in my grandfather's day,

397
00:18:13,927 --> 00:18:17,064
in order to protect from frost,
you needed to raise a flood.

398
00:18:17,130 --> 00:18:18,265
And that can be a process.

399
00:18:18,332 --> 00:18:20,601
Depending on your marsh,
it could take 12 hours,

400
00:18:20,667 --> 00:18:23,770
it could take 36 hours,
it could take a very long time.

401
00:18:23,837 --> 00:18:25,672
And you needed to think
in advance,

402
00:18:25,739 --> 00:18:28,408
"What is the weather
going to do?"

403
00:18:28,475 --> 00:18:33,480
Once pumps and irrigation
sprinklers were invented,

404
00:18:36,650 --> 00:18:37,751
a cranberry grower said,

405
00:18:37,818 --> 00:18:41,522
"You mean to tell me
I could know in 10 minutes

406
00:18:41,588 --> 00:18:43,991
"it's gonna get cold and I'm
gonna turn on my sprinklers,

407
00:18:44,057 --> 00:18:45,926
and I'm gonna have
frost protection?"

408
00:18:45,993 --> 00:18:49,963
And so, sprinkler
frost protection was a huge,

409
00:18:50,030 --> 00:18:53,767
huge step in being able
to protect not in the winter

410
00:18:53,834 --> 00:18:55,969
against the long, long cold,

411
00:18:56,036 --> 00:18:58,839
but in the spring
during maple syrup season

412
00:18:58,906 --> 00:19:02,709
when it is above freezing in the
day and below freezing at night.

413
00:19:02,776 --> 00:19:05,913
The below freezing at night
can still kill your cranberries.

414
00:19:05,979 --> 00:19:08,215
And so, in the early days,
they would have to flood

415
00:19:08,282 --> 00:19:10,584
for weeks on end
or raise a flood,

416
00:19:10,651 --> 00:19:12,386
and then the water
would run low of oxygen,

417
00:19:12,452 --> 00:19:14,054
and then they'd come back
with fresh water

418
00:19:14,121 --> 00:19:15,856
and raise a flood again.

419
00:19:15,923 --> 00:19:20,494
Now, we can have
temperature sensors in the beds.

420
00:19:21,161 --> 00:19:23,830
And because cranberries are
in a lowland,

421
00:19:23,897 --> 00:19:25,032
there's a little microclimate,

422
00:19:25,098 --> 00:19:29,503
and it can be even
15 degrees colder in my house

423
00:19:29,570 --> 00:19:32,139
versus in my cranberry bed.

424
00:19:32,206 --> 00:19:33,941
You have a temperature sensor
down at bed level.

425
00:19:34,007 --> 00:19:35,442
And when that buzzes,
you wake up

426
00:19:35,509 --> 00:19:39,813
and you turn on your irrigation
and then you are safe.

427
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,683
The next photo--
I wish I had higher resolution.

428
00:19:42,749 --> 00:19:44,585
This is a photo from Oregon.

429
00:19:44,651 --> 00:19:46,453
But as soon
as rural electrification

430
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:47,688
made it to Oregon,

431
00:19:47,754 --> 00:19:49,523
the very first thing
this cranberry farmer did

432
00:19:49,590 --> 00:19:54,261
was put a drill with some
whiskers on a-- like, a hoe

433
00:19:55,529 --> 00:19:57,431
and then went out
and started whacking weeds.

434
00:19:57,497 --> 00:19:59,766
That's the first thing
he did with electricity.

435
00:19:59,833 --> 00:20:04,872
[chuckles] And so, you can see
the large benefit of that.

436
00:20:04,938 --> 00:20:06,340
So, culture of innovation.

437
00:20:06,406 --> 00:20:08,141
I know a lot of people
in this room

438
00:20:08,208 --> 00:20:09,943
have farming roots as well.

439
00:20:10,010 --> 00:20:11,545
So, you're probably familiar
with this.

440
00:20:11,612 --> 00:20:14,348
And I'm just gonna give
a quick little tour

441
00:20:14,414 --> 00:20:18,318
of the development
of cranberry harvest.

442
00:20:19,052 --> 00:20:20,687
So, this is a very early
cranberry harvest.

443
00:20:20,754 --> 00:20:22,089
You can tell it's New Jersey

444
00:20:22,155 --> 00:20:24,558
because they have the nice beach
umbrella in the background.

445
00:20:24,625 --> 00:20:25,893
[audience laughs]

446
00:20:25,959 --> 00:20:27,761
The original harvest method
was picking.

447
00:20:27,828 --> 00:20:31,398
And clearly bring
your entire family.

448
00:20:32,132 --> 00:20:35,669
The next step up from that--
and you'll be able to see it

449
00:20:35,736 --> 00:20:38,005
in a little bit closer
resolution soon--

450
00:20:38,071 --> 00:20:41,909
was raking, and originally
people would dry rake.

451
00:20:41,975 --> 00:20:43,610
So, doing the same thing
as handpicking,

452
00:20:43,677 --> 00:20:49,116
just with a box and teeth combs
instead of your fingers.

453
00:20:49,183 --> 00:20:51,818
But then again, there was
a frost one harvest,

454
00:20:51,885 --> 00:20:56,123
because if you're 15 degrees
colder than the highland,

455
00:20:56,190 --> 00:20:57,457
you can still freeze in July.

456
00:20:57,524 --> 00:20:58,859
You can still freeze in August.

457
00:20:58,926 --> 00:21:01,562
You can obviously freeze in
October when it's harvesttime.

458
00:21:01,628 --> 00:21:04,431
So, somebody put on a flood
and they took off their flood

459
00:21:04,498 --> 00:21:06,333
and they said,
"Hey, my cranberries

460
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,502
"are trying really hard
to float.

461
00:21:08,569 --> 00:21:10,304
"Since they're floating,

462
00:21:10,370 --> 00:21:12,005
"why don't we just keep
raking them

463
00:21:12,072 --> 00:21:14,007
while they're kind of floating?"

464
00:21:14,074 --> 00:21:18,645
And so, this is-- I just got
this video from Ed Grygleski

465
00:21:18,712 --> 00:21:21,048
of Valley Corp. in Tomah.

466
00:21:22,049 --> 00:21:24,051
And since they're floating,

467
00:21:24,117 --> 00:21:27,921
it's gonna be a little bit
easier to hand rake these.

468
00:21:27,988 --> 00:21:29,656
You can see...

469
00:21:30,991 --> 00:21:32,759
This was taken in Tomah.

470
00:21:32,826 --> 00:21:36,129
I unfortunately don't have
the year.

471
00:21:36,196 --> 00:21:41,101
But this method of harvest
is clearly a labor of love,

472
00:21:42,936 --> 00:21:47,841
a labor of shoulders,
a labor of your lumbar area.

473
00:21:47,908 --> 00:21:51,778
And I've done a fair amount
of hand raking

474
00:21:51,845 --> 00:21:55,749
in my role as the
Cranberry Outreach Specialist.

475
00:21:55,816 --> 00:21:57,484
I've also done a lot
of field trials.

476
00:21:57,551 --> 00:21:58,819
And in order to say,

477
00:21:58,886 --> 00:22:01,255
"How did this treatment work
against this treatment?"

478
00:22:01,321 --> 00:22:06,093
you need to harvest those meter,
you know, meter-square plots.

479
00:22:06,159 --> 00:22:10,464
And so, I daresay there are
not too many cranberry growers--

480
00:22:10,531 --> 00:22:12,232
Growers will still use
this technique

481
00:22:12,299 --> 00:22:13,967
to take a color sample.

482
00:22:14,034 --> 00:22:16,970
So, they'll say,
"Am I ready to harvest yet?"

483
00:22:17,037 --> 00:22:19,740
I'll take out my grandpa's
old rake and I'll rake a sample.

484
00:22:19,806 --> 00:22:21,108
And then I'll send that to--

485
00:22:21,175 --> 00:22:23,443
whether their processor is
Ocean Spray or Mariani

486
00:22:23,510 --> 00:22:24,611
or Badger State Fruit.

487
00:22:24,678 --> 00:22:26,013
They'll send one
with their truck driver

488
00:22:26,079 --> 00:22:27,414
and say,
"Is this bed ready yet?"

489
00:22:27,481 --> 00:22:29,550
And the processor will say yes
or no.

490
00:22:29,616 --> 00:22:31,718
So, everyone still uses
their grandpa's rake

491
00:22:31,785 --> 00:22:33,620
a couple times a year.

492
00:22:33,687 --> 00:22:37,391
But I feel like as a researcher,
I've used the hand rake

493
00:22:37,457 --> 00:22:41,695
a little more
than the average person in 2026.

494
00:22:42,362 --> 00:22:44,598
And this is just, again,
showing they are beautiful.

495
00:22:44,665 --> 00:22:46,133
All right, so that's--

496
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,369
So, that's hard
on your shoulders.

497
00:22:49,436 --> 00:22:54,241
And one fellow-- This is
actually out of New Jersey.

498
00:22:54,308 --> 00:22:56,844
There was a cranberry marsh,
two sons.

499
00:22:56,910 --> 00:22:58,312
One son took over
the cranberry marsh.

500
00:22:58,378 --> 00:23:01,915
One son went into
airplane engine design.

501
00:23:01,982 --> 00:23:03,717
But then the son
who took over the marsh

502
00:23:03,784 --> 00:23:05,385
passed away unexpectedly.

503
00:23:05,452 --> 00:23:09,790
And so, the airplane design son
moved back onto the marsh

504
00:23:09,857 --> 00:23:12,292
and said, "Boy,
my shoulders hurt.

505
00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:14,561
Let me design something better."

506
00:23:14,628 --> 00:23:17,931
And so, this Getsinger picker,
named after Mr. Getsinger,

507
00:23:17,998 --> 00:23:21,802
is basically that same rake box
with the tines

508
00:23:21,869 --> 00:23:23,237
on a conveyor belt.

509
00:23:23,303 --> 00:23:27,074
So, it's raking and then pulling
up and then dumping into a box

510
00:23:27,140 --> 00:23:30,711
at the back of that--
at the back of that picker.

511
00:23:30,777 --> 00:23:35,048
And this is my grandfather
running a Getsinger picker.

512
00:23:35,115 --> 00:23:38,452
My Uncle Stanley with no shirt
in the background there.

513
00:23:38,519 --> 00:23:41,622
And you can see
they'd rest the waiting boxes

514
00:23:41,688 --> 00:23:42,789
ready to be filled up.

515
00:23:42,856 --> 00:23:44,992
And then they'd stack
the full boxes

516
00:23:45,058 --> 00:23:48,362
to be taken back
to the warehouse for sorting.

517
00:23:48,428 --> 00:23:50,931
Cranberry growers
will innovate yet again and say,

518
00:23:50,998 --> 00:23:54,935
"Boy, this Getsinger picker is
way easier than hand raking,

519
00:23:55,002 --> 00:23:56,870
but I wish I was sitting down."

520
00:23:56,937 --> 00:24:01,275
And so, here is--
I believe this is Mr. Rezin,

521
00:24:01,341 --> 00:24:02,743
judging by the house
in the background,

522
00:24:02,809 --> 00:24:03,911
because you can still see,

523
00:24:03,977 --> 00:24:06,880
"Oh, yeah,
his grandson lives there now."

524
00:24:06,947 --> 00:24:11,151
So, this is a Getsinger picker
that's ride-along.

525
00:24:11,218 --> 00:24:13,520
And then, the next innovation--

526
00:24:13,587 --> 00:24:15,522
and you've got me
in the foreground there

527
00:24:15,589 --> 00:24:17,858
removing
that sprinkler irrigation--

528
00:24:17,925 --> 00:24:19,092
is the beater.

529
00:24:19,159 --> 00:24:20,260
And so, with the beater,

530
00:24:20,327 --> 00:24:23,564
you raise a flood
that's about calf-deep.

531
00:24:23,630 --> 00:24:26,800
And then, those beaters
have reels that are going--

532
00:24:26,867 --> 00:24:29,870
And if you know, like, a wheat
reel with the tines, it's that,

533
00:24:29,937 --> 00:24:31,271
but with no tines,

534
00:24:31,338 --> 00:24:34,942
and it's like a lawn mower motor
driving this reel

535
00:24:35,008 --> 00:24:36,743
and you're kind of walking
behind it.

536
00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:39,012
And you've got
that calf-deep flood.

537
00:24:39,079 --> 00:24:42,516
So, the cranberries are gonna
float up to the surface.

538
00:24:42,583 --> 00:24:45,752
And then, once the cranberries
have floated up to the surface,

539
00:24:45,819 --> 00:24:47,888
you can corral them.

540
00:24:47,955 --> 00:24:51,291
I missed one element
of innovation here.

541
00:24:51,358 --> 00:24:52,860
Originally they were corralled

542
00:24:52,926 --> 00:24:57,297
with wooden planks,
like plain cedar with no knots

543
00:24:57,364 --> 00:25:02,002
and hooks and loops
and you'd connect them together.

544
00:25:02,069 --> 00:25:05,005
After one
of the major oil spills,

545
00:25:05,072 --> 00:25:07,241
a cranberry grower saw
that oil spill boom and said,

546
00:25:07,307 --> 00:25:09,743
"Hey, part of that floats
and part of that sinks

547
00:25:09,810 --> 00:25:11,478
"and it corrals the oil spill.

548
00:25:11,545 --> 00:25:13,347
I wonder if that could
corral cranberries."

549
00:25:13,413 --> 00:25:16,884
And, lo and behold, called up
Texas Oil Boom Company,

550
00:25:16,950 --> 00:25:19,553
which remains
one of the suppliers

551
00:25:19,620 --> 00:25:21,455
of cranberry boom to this day.

552
00:25:21,522 --> 00:25:22,623
There are, of course,

553
00:25:22,689 --> 00:25:24,224
a few others in Warrens
that also produce.

554
00:25:24,291 --> 00:25:26,426
But that is genuinely,

555
00:25:27,528 --> 00:25:29,229
"That works well
for oil spill containment.

556
00:25:29,296 --> 00:25:31,532
I bet it would help us
harvest cranberries."

557
00:25:31,598 --> 00:25:34,735
So, these cranberries
are boomed together, corralled,

558
00:25:34,801 --> 00:25:36,803
run up an elevator into a wagon,

559
00:25:36,870 --> 00:25:39,773
and then sorted
in a grass machine.

560
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,109
And then, we're not done yet.

561
00:25:42,176 --> 00:25:46,380
You might be familiar with the
back of Charlie Berens' head,

562
00:25:46,446 --> 00:25:51,118
but he here is attempting to
hand rake in front of a harrow.

563
00:25:51,185 --> 00:25:55,522
So, the harrow is
one step faster than a beater.

564
00:25:56,323 --> 00:26:00,794
It does have a little bit
more weight on the soil,

565
00:26:00,861 --> 00:26:04,631
but it's got these springs
that are set upside down,

566
00:26:04,698 --> 00:26:07,868
so they just kind of gently rake
the berries off of the vines.

567
00:26:07,935 --> 00:26:10,337
And then, once
those berries are off the vines,

568
00:26:10,404 --> 00:26:12,105
you'll raise the flood more.

569
00:26:12,172 --> 00:26:14,741
And this here is a berry pump.

570
00:26:14,808 --> 00:26:16,443
A berry pump is actually
technology

571
00:26:16,510 --> 00:26:18,278
that somebody saw
in fish farming.

572
00:26:18,345 --> 00:26:22,449
And so, they saw that they were
able to pull fish with pumps,

573
00:26:22,516 --> 00:26:24,718
and they were like, "If it's
gentle enough for a fish,

574
00:26:24,785 --> 00:26:27,087
I bet it's gentle enough
for a cranberry."

575
00:26:27,154 --> 00:26:30,891
And so, these jets of water
propel the berries up

576
00:26:30,958 --> 00:26:32,559
and into that pump.

577
00:26:32,626 --> 00:26:37,898
They go up, and sorted into
the left are all of the leaves

578
00:26:37,965 --> 00:26:39,633
and all of the water.

579
00:26:39,700 --> 00:26:42,569
This dump truck has
been specially modified

580
00:26:42,636 --> 00:26:45,639
to dump water back into either--

581
00:26:46,673 --> 00:26:50,177
It's got a valve, so it can
either put water into the bed

582
00:26:50,244 --> 00:26:51,879
that you're still harvesting
from

583
00:26:51,945 --> 00:26:53,747
or it can put water
into the next bed,

584
00:26:53,814 --> 00:26:55,949
if you want to raise
the level at the next bed.

585
00:26:56,016 --> 00:26:57,851
And then it's mesh.

586
00:26:57,918 --> 00:27:00,120
So, the leaves all
stay in that dump truck,

587
00:27:00,187 --> 00:27:02,356
and then they're gone
and taken to an area

588
00:27:02,422 --> 00:27:04,057
where they get composted.

589
00:27:04,124 --> 00:27:07,094
And then, different marshes will
either use those compost

590
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:08,462
to help rebuild dikes--

591
00:27:08,529 --> 00:27:10,264
You can see the dikes get
a little wet

592
00:27:10,330 --> 00:27:12,266
and you need to rebuild them
from time to time.

593
00:27:12,332 --> 00:27:15,202
Others sell it
as compost for gardens.

594
00:27:15,269 --> 00:27:17,804
And then, to the right
go all of the cranberries.

595
00:27:17,871 --> 00:27:20,240
And the cranberries
are then already cleaned

596
00:27:20,307 --> 00:27:23,577
from their leaves
and taken on to the processor.

597
00:27:23,644 --> 00:27:27,981
So, that is the story arc
of farmer innovation.

598
00:27:29,516 --> 00:27:31,485
But all farmers innovate.

599
00:27:31,552 --> 00:27:34,521
What makes us cranberry farmers
kind of especially good at this?

600
00:27:34,588 --> 00:27:37,391
Why do cranberry farmers
stand out from the pack?

601
00:27:37,457 --> 00:27:41,061
Mechanical innovation--
All farmers do this.

602
00:27:41,128 --> 00:27:42,796
Agronomic innovation.

603
00:27:42,863 --> 00:27:46,567
And I'll show, also--
This is a boom spreader.

604
00:27:46,633 --> 00:27:48,602
And so, this allows

605
00:27:48,669 --> 00:27:51,338
exactly the right amount
of fertilizer to be placed

606
00:27:51,405 --> 00:27:55,676
in exactly the right place,
with no off-target application,

607
00:27:55,742 --> 00:27:56,910
and very efficiently.

608
00:27:56,977 --> 00:27:58,579
And that lets
cranberry growers make

609
00:27:58,645 --> 00:28:03,383
their very small spoon-feeding
applications of nutrients.

610
00:28:03,450 --> 00:28:05,886
If you overfeed a cranberry,

611
00:28:05,953 --> 00:28:07,988
it is going to feel
too luxurious,

612
00:28:08,055 --> 00:28:11,091
and it is going to put all of
its energy into growing leaves

613
00:28:11,158 --> 00:28:14,561
and planning for the future by
being a really big, bushy plant.

614
00:28:14,628 --> 00:28:17,130
But we like to sell fruit
instead of leaves,

615
00:28:17,197 --> 00:28:19,766
so we have to give it enough
to survive,

616
00:28:19,833 --> 00:28:21,802
but not so much
that it feels comfortable.

617
00:28:21,869 --> 00:28:24,204
We want to keep it right
on the edge of starvation--

618
00:28:24,271 --> 00:28:28,342
not starvation, but
right on the edge of starvation.

619
00:28:28,408 --> 00:28:32,946
And so, the ability
to make very small applications

620
00:28:33,013 --> 00:28:35,849
of nutrients and then watch.

621
00:28:35,916 --> 00:28:37,484
When does the plant need more?

622
00:28:37,551 --> 00:28:38,986
When does the plant need more?

623
00:28:39,052 --> 00:28:41,788
I'm not gonna give it more
until it really needs it.

624
00:28:41,855 --> 00:28:44,525
So, this boom spreader is one

625
00:28:45,058 --> 00:28:48,028
of the agronomic innovations
that helps with that.

626
00:28:48,095 --> 00:28:49,897
But, again,
agronomic innovations,

627
00:28:49,963 --> 00:28:51,632
all farmers do this.

628
00:28:51,698 --> 00:28:56,303
But cooperative innovation is
a little bit less common.

629
00:28:56,370 --> 00:29:01,942
And so, you can imagine if
you're selling a fresh product

630
00:29:02,009 --> 00:29:04,945
to grocery stores or to,
you know,

631
00:29:05,012 --> 00:29:08,215
whoever's buying it
on the railroad,

632
00:29:08,282 --> 00:29:09,750
you get kind of
a winner-take-all.

633
00:29:09,816 --> 00:29:11,018
The first guy to market

634
00:29:11,084 --> 00:29:13,020
is able to sell
at a higher price,

635
00:29:13,086 --> 00:29:15,822
and the last guy to market
might not be able to sell at all

636
00:29:15,889 --> 00:29:17,724
if the market has dried up.

637
00:29:17,791 --> 00:29:21,028
And so, Judge Gaynor
out of Cranmor

638
00:29:22,095 --> 00:29:25,666
hires a fellow to begin
the Wisconsin Sales Company.

639
00:29:25,732 --> 00:29:27,634
And they say, "Okay,

640
00:29:28,202 --> 00:29:30,470
"I'm gonna pool together
with a bunch of growers.

641
00:29:30,537 --> 00:29:32,439
"We're all gonna commit
our fruit.

642
00:29:32,506 --> 00:29:33,941
"We're gonna let
this good salesman

643
00:29:34,007 --> 00:29:35,943
"handle promotion and placement
and sales

644
00:29:36,009 --> 00:29:37,911
"and working with all
the grocery stores.

645
00:29:37,978 --> 00:29:42,649
"And then, we're going to be
able to pool the output

646
00:29:43,784 --> 00:29:47,454
"so that no one person gets
a hugely high price

647
00:29:47,521 --> 00:29:49,256
"while someone else
gets zero this year,

648
00:29:49,323 --> 00:29:51,258
"and we can kind of balance out
and make sure

649
00:29:51,325 --> 00:29:52,693
that everyone's fruit
gets sold."

650
00:29:52,759 --> 00:29:54,561
And they were winding up selling
more fruit

651
00:29:54,628 --> 00:29:56,363
because the salesman
was better.

652
00:29:56,430 --> 00:29:59,099
For example, you know, giving
you a better name: Eatmor.

653
00:29:59,166 --> 00:30:03,370
[audience chuckles]
This was popular in Wisconsin

654
00:30:03,437 --> 00:30:06,039
and so effective so quickly
that New Jersey

655
00:30:06,106 --> 00:30:09,710
and Massachusetts
followed the very next year.

656
00:30:09,776 --> 00:30:11,278
And then, three years later,

657
00:30:11,345 --> 00:30:15,015
they all merged to become
the American Cranberry Exchange.

658
00:30:15,082 --> 00:30:18,519
So, originally, Eatmor
sold raw cranberries.

659
00:30:18,585 --> 00:30:21,788
Fresh cranberries were
the primary way

660
00:30:21,855 --> 00:30:24,057
that Americans consumed
cranberries.

661
00:30:24,124 --> 00:30:27,361
And after the invention
of the can,

662
00:30:28,428 --> 00:30:30,264
we started to have
canned cranberry sauce,

663
00:30:30,330 --> 00:30:34,134
and Ocean Spray set up
as a similar co-op.

664
00:30:35,602 --> 00:30:37,738
While Eatmor handled
the high-dollar,

665
00:30:37,804 --> 00:30:42,442
more valuable fresh market,
Ocean Spray handled the,

666
00:30:42,509 --> 00:30:45,078
"Okay, here's what's left,
we'll can it."

667
00:30:45,145 --> 00:30:48,615
Eventually,
the canned market grew larger

668
00:30:48,682 --> 00:30:50,050
than the fresh market,

669
00:30:50,117 --> 00:30:52,352
and eventually, Ocean Spray and
Eatmor kind of butted heads.

670
00:30:52,419 --> 00:30:53,520
And eventually, Ocean Spray

671
00:30:53,587 --> 00:30:58,058
was kind of the winning
cranberry cooperative.

672
00:30:58,692 --> 00:31:02,262
And it's really neat to see
how the fact

673
00:31:04,698 --> 00:31:09,503
that the cranberry industry
is so culturally steeped

674
00:31:09,570 --> 00:31:10,971
in this cooperative,

675
00:31:11,038 --> 00:31:14,608
because all
of the cranberry growers,

676
00:31:15,509 --> 00:31:18,011
you're raising your kid
to fix engines

677
00:31:18,078 --> 00:31:19,847
and you're raising your kid
to manage water flow,

678
00:31:19,913 --> 00:31:22,416
and you're raising
your kid to understand

679
00:31:22,482 --> 00:31:24,084
how plant nutrition works.

680
00:31:24,151 --> 00:31:27,020
And you're also raising
your kid to raise a business--

681
00:31:27,087 --> 00:31:29,823
run a business
and cooperate with everyone else

682
00:31:29,890 --> 00:31:31,825
who's a cranberry grower.

683
00:31:31,892 --> 00:31:34,728
This is from a 2006 paper
on the cranberry industry,

684
00:31:34,795 --> 00:31:36,630
but "the stockholders
of Ocean Spray

685
00:31:36,697 --> 00:31:39,099
"and of any cooperative
are not merely stockholders.

686
00:31:39,166 --> 00:31:40,968
"Their interests
go beyond making a profit

687
00:31:41,034 --> 00:31:42,402
"on their investment.

688
00:31:42,469 --> 00:31:45,772
"They are suppliers to, as well
as owners of, their company.

689
00:31:45,839 --> 00:31:47,307
"They have the right
and responsibility

690
00:31:47,374 --> 00:31:49,076
"to manage the company.

691
00:31:49,142 --> 00:31:50,277
"They hire
professional management

692
00:31:50,344 --> 00:31:51,612
"to carry out their objectives,

693
00:31:51,678 --> 00:31:54,081
but not to independently operate
the company."

694
00:31:54,147 --> 00:31:56,583
And the goal
of cranberry growers

695
00:31:56,650 --> 00:31:58,051
in being part of Ocean Spray

696
00:31:58,118 --> 00:32:00,454
is not necessarily
the most profit this year.

697
00:32:00,521 --> 00:32:02,556
It's to have
a sustainable industry

698
00:32:02,623 --> 00:32:05,259
that's going to be able
to continue to buy cranberries

699
00:32:05,325 --> 00:32:07,027
from cranberry growers
and sell cranberries

700
00:32:07,094 --> 00:32:11,732
to people throughout the world
for generations to come.

701
00:32:11,798 --> 00:32:14,701
And you really see that
through the cranberry industry.

702
00:32:14,768 --> 00:32:18,438
This is a picture
from 1900 of the very--

703
00:32:18,906 --> 00:32:20,174
at least to my knowledge,

704
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,944
the very first Cranberry Growers
summer meeting.

705
00:32:24,011 --> 00:32:27,548
This is a summer picnic,
again at the Gaynor farm.

706
00:32:27,614 --> 00:32:29,416
And this is 2024's.

707
00:32:30,517 --> 00:32:32,519
This is being held at the
Cranberry Innovation Center.

708
00:32:32,586 --> 00:32:34,555
The photo was obviously taken
by a drone.

709
00:32:34,621 --> 00:32:37,691
You can see
little yellow school buses

710
00:32:37,758 --> 00:32:40,794
that are taking groups
of growers around

711
00:32:40,861 --> 00:32:44,364
where I have seven researchers
at various stations

712
00:32:44,431 --> 00:32:47,935
on this research farm
talking about the research

713
00:32:48,001 --> 00:32:50,103
that they're doing
and sharing that with growers.

714
00:32:50,170 --> 00:32:53,240
There's fried chicken,
there's all kinds of vendors.

715
00:32:53,307 --> 00:32:56,743
And we still have people
coming together twice a year

716
00:32:56,810 --> 00:32:59,479
to share, to learn together.

717
00:33:00,547 --> 00:33:02,216
And we want to talk a little bit

718
00:33:02,282 --> 00:33:04,218
about what makes
not just cranberries special,

719
00:33:04,284 --> 00:33:06,320
but also
what makes Wisconsin special.

720
00:33:06,386 --> 00:33:10,390
So, New Jersey and Massachusetts
also had these cooperatives.

721
00:33:10,457 --> 00:33:13,627
And so, we're gonna talk
a little bit about the pivot

722
00:33:13,694 --> 00:33:18,632
from the 1990s, or when
Wisconsin really started

723
00:33:18,699 --> 00:33:21,068
to become the leader
in the world.

724
00:33:21,134 --> 00:33:24,671
And we eclipsed the Bay State
in 1995.

725
00:33:24,738 --> 00:33:26,807
And you can see
in this figure here

726
00:33:26,874 --> 00:33:29,343
that Wisconsin has
always been a major player,

727
00:33:29,409 --> 00:33:32,746
but really has-- again,
since 1995,

728
00:33:33,780 --> 00:33:35,916
have really, really
brought it home

729
00:33:35,983 --> 00:33:38,552
for the world cranberry
production.

730
00:33:38,619 --> 00:33:41,021
That's largely
because of better economics.

731
00:33:41,088 --> 00:33:46,193
This is a chart from USDA
National Ag Statistics Service.

732
00:33:46,260 --> 00:33:49,196
And you can see,
for a couple of reasons,

733
00:33:49,263 --> 00:33:52,366
cost of production
is simply lower in Wisconsin.

734
00:33:52,432 --> 00:33:57,337
Part of that is because we have
less competition for the land.

735
00:33:57,404 --> 00:33:58,839
With Massachusetts,

736
00:33:58,906 --> 00:34:02,576
Cape Cod is a very nice place
to have your vacation home.

737
00:34:02,643 --> 00:34:04,645
And part of that is because

738
00:34:04,711 --> 00:34:07,080
with some
of the more modern construction

739
00:34:07,147 --> 00:34:10,484
of the beds,
we gain a lot of productivity.

740
00:34:10,551 --> 00:34:13,320
And so, I've got just
a Google Image search-- sorry--

741
00:34:13,387 --> 00:34:18,158
Google Maps search of the
largest Massachusetts marsh

742
00:34:18,225 --> 00:34:21,128
on the top
and a Google Maps view

743
00:34:22,663 --> 00:34:25,365
of the largest Wisconsin marsh
in the bottom.

744
00:34:25,432 --> 00:34:29,770
And these marshes are
fairly comparable in acreage.

745
00:34:29,837 --> 00:34:32,372
But if you think again
back to that boom spreader

746
00:34:32,439 --> 00:34:35,809
that I showed earlier about
how nutrients are applied,

747
00:34:35,876 --> 00:34:38,745
you can see that it's gonna be
a lot easier to do a marsh

748
00:34:38,812 --> 00:34:40,547
that's made of rectangles.

749
00:34:40,614 --> 00:34:43,183
And so, you can see
here's the boom applicator,

750
00:34:43,250 --> 00:34:46,753
versus in Massachusetts,
they need to use a helicopter.

751
00:34:46,820 --> 00:34:49,723
And if you have noticed the
price of diesel fuel lately--

752
00:34:49,790 --> 00:34:52,192
and I'm sure helicopter fuel
is not so different

753
00:34:52,259 --> 00:34:55,762
from diesel fuel--
you're going to be lamenting

754
00:34:55,829 --> 00:34:59,433
that you aren't able to use
this boom truck.

755
00:34:59,499 --> 00:35:01,101
So, Wisconsin, partly

756
00:35:01,168 --> 00:35:05,339
the more agronomic-friendly
state climate,

757
00:35:05,405 --> 00:35:09,309
and partly the less pressure
from land on,

758
00:35:09,810 --> 00:35:11,845
you know,
people's vacation cottages,

759
00:35:11,912 --> 00:35:13,347
and then partly
this economics

760
00:35:13,413 --> 00:35:19,219
of these more modern bed shapes
have really made the difference.

761
00:35:19,286 --> 00:35:22,256
Wisconsin also has
a really fantastic partnership

762
00:35:22,322 --> 00:35:24,157
with its university.

763
00:35:24,224 --> 00:35:26,894
One of the first ways
that I became aware of that

764
00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:29,129
was through
the UW-Madison Extension

765
00:35:29,196 --> 00:35:31,131
Cranberry Leadership Program.

766
00:35:31,198 --> 00:35:33,800
The Wisconsin Cranberry Board
kind of funds this,

767
00:35:33,867 --> 00:35:37,137
but they have Extension
take a huge role

768
00:35:37,204 --> 00:35:39,706
in developing a curriculum

769
00:35:39,773 --> 00:35:42,142
on team leadership
and personality styles,

770
00:35:42,209 --> 00:35:44,678
public speaking,
public relations,

771
00:35:44,745 --> 00:35:47,915
how the cranberry ecosystem
all works together.

772
00:35:47,981 --> 00:35:51,852
And that's in partnership
with Cranberry Growers

773
00:35:51,919 --> 00:35:53,554
as well as the university.

774
00:35:53,620 --> 00:35:54,988
And that's a yearlong program

775
00:35:55,055 --> 00:35:57,791
that when someone's
son or daughter says,

776
00:35:57,858 --> 00:36:01,228
"I'm feeling ready to step up
into that next level

777
00:36:01,295 --> 00:36:04,565
of leadership," whether
it's through their handler,

778
00:36:04,631 --> 00:36:10,604
or cranberry buyers group, or
through the Growers Association,

779
00:36:10,671 --> 00:36:12,940
saying, "I'm ready, I want
to learn how to do this,"

780
00:36:13,006 --> 00:36:15,142
and giving
that leadership training.

781
00:36:15,209 --> 00:36:19,146
The incoming Growers Association
board president for 2024 said,

782
00:36:19,213 --> 00:36:22,282
"Every person on our board went
through that leadership program,

783
00:36:22,349 --> 00:36:24,685
"and I can't speak for everyone
but myself.

784
00:36:24,751 --> 00:36:26,520
"I wouldn't have the confidence

785
00:36:26,587 --> 00:36:28,522
"to lead the
Growers Association board

786
00:36:28,589 --> 00:36:31,758
if I hadn't been
through this program."

787
00:36:31,825 --> 00:36:37,064
And that really shows that
program as, I believe, in its...

788
00:36:37,130 --> 00:36:41,101
12th instance,
so 24 years in existence.

789
00:36:41,168 --> 00:36:46,340
I took a survey in 2024 saying,
"Has someone from my marsh

790
00:36:46,406 --> 00:36:48,909
"participated
on any boards or committees

791
00:36:48,976 --> 00:36:50,544
in the cranberry industry?"

792
00:36:50,611 --> 00:36:53,514
And 56% had
in the last 10 years.

793
00:36:55,315 --> 00:36:57,050
And if you think of any industry

794
00:36:57,117 --> 00:36:59,720
and if you brought a bunch
of people together and said,

795
00:36:59,786 --> 00:37:02,322
"Do you have a voice
in your industry?"

796
00:37:02,389 --> 00:37:04,224
How many industries
would you have

797
00:37:04,291 --> 00:37:07,060
more than 50% of the people
raise their hand and say, "Yeah,

798
00:37:07,127 --> 00:37:09,730
in the last 10 years, I've had
a voice in my industry."

799
00:37:09,796 --> 00:37:14,268
And in cranberries,
almost 60% in the last 10 years

800
00:37:14,334 --> 00:37:18,472
and more than 70% in total
are part of working

801
00:37:19,573 --> 00:37:21,575
with their industry.

802
00:37:23,076 --> 00:37:24,545
I promised climate.

803
00:37:24,611 --> 00:37:25,846
Here's Joe Fitch.

804
00:37:25,913 --> 00:37:27,581
It is -50.

805
00:37:27,881 --> 00:37:29,550
[chuckles]

806
00:37:30,150 --> 00:37:31,652
And Joe might not love

807
00:37:31,718 --> 00:37:34,655
that -50
temperature reading.

808
00:37:34,721 --> 00:37:37,024
But other organisms do not love

809
00:37:37,090 --> 00:37:39,193
a -50
temperature reading.

810
00:37:39,259 --> 00:37:44,765
This is a bunch of pathogens
that cause cranberry fruit rot,

811
00:37:44,831 --> 00:37:49,336
and cranberry fruit rot
pathogens do not love -50.

812
00:37:49,403 --> 00:37:53,607
This is a tiny worm that we call
the cranberry fruitworm,

813
00:37:53,674 --> 00:37:56,210
and he is burrowing
inside of a cranberry

814
00:37:56,276 --> 00:38:00,614
and eating the fruit and leaving
it an empty shell behind.

815
00:38:00,681 --> 00:38:05,419
And that cranberry fruitworm
also does not love,

816
00:38:05,485 --> 00:38:07,254
does not love -50 degrees.

817
00:38:07,321 --> 00:38:08,989
So, Wisconsin--

818
00:38:09,289 --> 00:38:13,760
If you look back
at the other producing states--

819
00:38:14,795 --> 00:38:19,399
Washington, Oregon, New Jersey,
Massachusetts--

820
00:38:19,466 --> 00:38:21,268
as coastal states,

821
00:38:21,568 --> 00:38:25,806
they have milder winters
than Wisconsin has.

822
00:38:25,873 --> 00:38:30,878
When we're able to freeze out
our southerly tourists,

823
00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:35,115
we are also freezing out some

824
00:38:35,182 --> 00:38:38,619
of our least-preferred
insect neighbors

825
00:38:38,685 --> 00:38:40,821
and fungal neighbors.

826
00:38:41,622 --> 00:38:43,757
And then, another thing
that I'll note.

827
00:38:43,824 --> 00:38:46,827
In the raising the winter flood,

828
00:38:48,495 --> 00:38:51,365
letting that 12 to 18 inches
of ice freeze,

829
00:38:51,431 --> 00:38:53,267
draining the water out
from under it,

830
00:38:53,333 --> 00:38:56,937
in Wisconsin, we've
been doing that for 150 years,

831
00:38:57,004 --> 00:38:59,039
and we're still doing it.

832
00:38:59,106 --> 00:39:00,741
In Massachusetts,

833
00:39:00,807 --> 00:39:04,144
and in New Jersey, and in
Oregon, and in Washington,

834
00:39:04,211 --> 00:39:06,079
they were doing that
at the beginning,

835
00:39:06,146 --> 00:39:08,482
but they're having fewer
and fewer cold snaps

836
00:39:08,549 --> 00:39:12,686
where they're able to get
a good layer of ice.

837
00:39:13,353 --> 00:39:15,289
One thing that we do
with that layer of ice,

838
00:39:15,355 --> 00:39:19,793
in addition to protecting
the plants from frost,

839
00:39:19,860 --> 00:39:24,131
is we drive dump trucks on it
with a thin layer of sand,

840
00:39:24,198 --> 00:39:28,001
and we'll sprinkle
1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of sand.

841
00:39:28,068 --> 00:39:29,870
Usually the sand
that's right on site,

842
00:39:29,937 --> 00:39:32,206
that's the same that
the beds are constructed of.

843
00:39:32,272 --> 00:39:37,611
And that sand layer does
even a better job of burying.

844
00:39:37,678 --> 00:39:40,113
When the ice melts,
the sand is gonna filter down

845
00:39:40,180 --> 00:39:42,182
on top of the cranberry vines.

846
00:39:42,249 --> 00:39:45,385
It gives the vines a hormonal
cue to send out more runners.

847
00:39:45,452 --> 00:39:49,556
So, it's kind of the equivalent
of pruning your grapevines.

848
00:39:49,623 --> 00:39:51,592
Instead of having to cut off
dead tissue,

849
00:39:51,658 --> 00:39:53,093
it buries the dead tissue

850
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,296
and then
sets newer, vigorous growth.

851
00:39:56,363 --> 00:39:58,632
The vigorous growth
is gonna set more fruit.

852
00:39:58,699 --> 00:40:01,101
But then at the same time,
you're burying your old tissue.

853
00:40:01,168 --> 00:40:03,537
So, if you think about things
that had pathogen infections,

854
00:40:03,604 --> 00:40:07,140
or if you're thinking about
things that were insect eggs,

855
00:40:07,207 --> 00:40:10,010
they're now buried
below a layer of sand.

856
00:40:10,077 --> 00:40:12,412
And then, over time, my--

857
00:40:13,347 --> 00:40:16,984
The oldest beds that
my dad has on his marsh

858
00:40:17,050 --> 00:40:19,052
are 86 or 87 years old.

859
00:40:20,287 --> 00:40:22,422
That-- Those beds
are still producing

860
00:40:22,489 --> 00:40:26,093
at the maximum capacity
for that variety.

861
00:40:26,159 --> 00:40:28,495
If you maintain
your cranberry beds well,

862
00:40:28,562 --> 00:40:31,632
they'll keep producing
longer than a lifetime.

863
00:40:31,698 --> 00:40:33,433
The only reason
to replant cranberries

864
00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:35,469
is if you want a new variety.

865
00:40:35,536 --> 00:40:38,906
But this sanding practice
that we do to refresh our vines

866
00:40:38,972 --> 00:40:43,544
and keep them fresh
and also bury the insect eggs,

867
00:40:44,311 --> 00:40:45,979
bury the fungi,

868
00:40:46,246 --> 00:40:50,717
over time creates this
cool layer cake of peat sand,

869
00:40:50,784 --> 00:40:52,486
peat sand, peat sand

870
00:40:52,553 --> 00:40:55,923
that's really advantageous
for growing.

871
00:40:55,989 --> 00:41:01,028
But Massachusetts and New Jersey
and Washington and Oregon

872
00:41:01,094 --> 00:41:04,064
are having a harder
and harder time building ice

873
00:41:04,131 --> 00:41:06,133
that you can drive on.

874
00:41:06,667 --> 00:41:11,338
And so, they're looking at--
farmer innovation--

875
00:41:12,072 --> 00:41:15,275
various kind of sandblasting
or blowing

876
00:41:15,342 --> 00:41:16,777
or they're doing barge sanding.

877
00:41:16,844 --> 00:41:19,446
So, they'll have
little floating barges

878
00:41:19,513 --> 00:41:21,849
and they'll have people kind of
pushing the sand off behind,

879
00:41:21,915 --> 00:41:24,518
doing their best to emulate--

880
00:41:24,585 --> 00:41:27,454
This practice was originally
developed actually--

881
00:41:27,521 --> 00:41:29,723
Captain Hall is the first

882
00:41:29,790 --> 00:41:32,893
commercial cranberry grower
in America.

883
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:36,096
He was a fisherman
out on Cape Cod,

884
00:41:36,563 --> 00:41:38,765
and he happened
to also own land on Cape Cod

885
00:41:38,832 --> 00:41:40,767
that had cranberries.

886
00:41:40,834 --> 00:41:44,371
He, whether he heard it
or guessed it or intuited it,

887
00:41:44,438 --> 00:41:47,608
but found out, "Hey, this is
a good scurvy cure for my men.

888
00:41:47,674 --> 00:41:50,477
So, I'm gonna bring cranberries
out to my fishermen."

889
00:41:50,544 --> 00:41:55,415
And he noticed the ocean blowing
sand over his cranberry vines

890
00:41:55,482 --> 00:41:57,918
and saw that
after the sand covered them,

891
00:41:57,985 --> 00:42:00,020
they'd have
that extra runner growth,

892
00:42:00,087 --> 00:42:01,822
and then they'd set more fruit
in future years.

893
00:42:01,889 --> 00:42:04,725
So, that's the history
of that practice.

894
00:42:04,791 --> 00:42:07,794
Yeah,
so climate, very important.

895
00:42:07,861 --> 00:42:11,098
So, they're curious
in Washington,

896
00:42:11,164 --> 00:42:16,303
in Massachusetts, "What do
we do with milder winters?"

897
00:42:17,738 --> 00:42:21,275
And when you have a question
about, what are you gonna do

898
00:42:21,341 --> 00:42:24,845
as conditions change, whether
those are climatic conditions,

899
00:42:24,912 --> 00:42:26,847
whether those are, you know,

900
00:42:26,914 --> 00:42:31,018
whatever conditions might be
changing, farmers need to adapt.

901
00:42:31,084 --> 00:42:34,321
The more
technologically advanced

902
00:42:34,388 --> 00:42:36,657
and the higher yields
we're getting,

903
00:42:36,723 --> 00:42:38,258
the harder it is
to answer these questions

904
00:42:38,325 --> 00:42:39,860
with all their little details.

905
00:42:39,927 --> 00:42:42,062
And so, cranberry growers
in Wisconsin

906
00:42:42,129 --> 00:42:43,697
have this great relationship

907
00:42:43,764 --> 00:42:45,799
with the
University of Wisconsin.

908
00:42:45,866 --> 00:42:48,335
And there are in, you know,

909
00:42:49,436 --> 00:42:52,573
in Madison here,
under the USDA--

910
00:42:53,106 --> 00:42:55,475
United States Department
of Agriculture--

911
00:42:55,542 --> 00:42:58,645
there's Juan Zalapa,
who's doing work in genetics.

912
00:42:58,712 --> 00:43:00,047
And so, if you say to Juan,

913
00:43:00,113 --> 00:43:03,417
"What are we gonna do
if we don't have as good of--

914
00:43:03,483 --> 00:43:05,953
as good of pathogen control
from our cold winters?"

915
00:43:06,019 --> 00:43:07,788
And Juan says, "That's cool.

916
00:43:07,855 --> 00:43:11,525
"It takes a long, long time to
breed new cranberry varieties,

917
00:43:11,592 --> 00:43:12,860
"but I've been working on some

918
00:43:12,926 --> 00:43:16,763
that are more resistant
to pathogens."

919
00:43:16,830 --> 00:43:18,765
A lot of times, these are ones
with waxier coatings.

920
00:43:18,832 --> 00:43:20,601
And so, you ask Juan,

921
00:43:20,667 --> 00:43:23,070
"Show me all of the list of
varieties with waxy coatings."

922
00:43:23,136 --> 00:43:25,572
And he says, "Oh, here's
my varieties with waxy coatings

923
00:43:25,639 --> 00:43:27,908
that we're looking at."

924
00:43:27,975 --> 00:43:29,643
You might say,

925
00:43:30,077 --> 00:43:35,549
"I've got this question about
how insects are gonna change

926
00:43:35,616 --> 00:43:38,151
"and insects are gonna bring
different--

927
00:43:38,218 --> 00:43:40,020
"are gonna hatch
in different patterns.

928
00:43:40,087 --> 00:43:43,090
"Because if I know I need to be
concerned about,

929
00:43:43,156 --> 00:43:44,892
"I'll set out my pheromone traps

930
00:43:44,958 --> 00:43:48,996
"for blackheaded fireworm
at such and such a time.

931
00:43:49,062 --> 00:43:50,497
Do I need to do that sooner?"

932
00:43:50,564 --> 00:43:53,600
You'll ask Shawn Steffan,
who's the USDA entomologist,

933
00:43:53,667 --> 00:43:55,602
and he says, "I've been working
on growing degree days

934
00:43:55,669 --> 00:43:57,037
"for blackheaded fireworm,

935
00:43:57,104 --> 00:43:59,239
"and here's when we should be
putting out our pheromone traps

936
00:43:59,306 --> 00:44:00,841
to see when there's a problem."

937
00:44:00,908 --> 00:44:04,378
You might be curious
about unlocking

938
00:44:05,012 --> 00:44:07,014
soil-available phosphorus.

939
00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:11,185
There's a lot of work being done
about keeping Wisconsin's water

940
00:44:11,251 --> 00:44:13,520
both plentiful and clean.

941
00:44:13,587 --> 00:44:15,656
And so, we want to think about,

942
00:44:15,722 --> 00:44:19,960
"If there's phosphorus
locked up in the soil,

943
00:44:20,027 --> 00:44:23,030
"is there a way that if
phosphorus is already there,

944
00:44:23,096 --> 00:44:25,165
"is there a way we could ask
that cranberry plant

945
00:44:25,232 --> 00:44:28,101
"to consume the phosphorus
that's already in the soil

946
00:44:28,168 --> 00:44:30,170
and kind of take it
out of the system?"

947
00:44:30,237 --> 00:44:32,206
And so, Jyostna Mura's
doing that work

948
00:44:32,272 --> 00:44:35,609
that I showed earlier
on those fungi

949
00:44:36,777 --> 00:44:41,114
that can selectively unbind
that phosphorus.

950
00:44:42,082 --> 00:44:44,418
Shinya Ikeda
is doing a lot of work

951
00:44:44,484 --> 00:44:48,055
in the health benefits
of cranberries

952
00:44:49,289 --> 00:44:51,491
and, as well, doing work
in different possible--

953
00:44:51,558 --> 00:44:54,361
You might remember I
first talked about fresh fruit.

954
00:44:54,428 --> 00:44:57,731
And then, there's
the canned cranberry sauce.

955
00:44:57,798 --> 00:45:00,834
Each time a new product
is invented--

956
00:45:00,901 --> 00:45:02,269
After juice was invented,

957
00:45:02,336 --> 00:45:04,271
now the canned market is small

958
00:45:04,338 --> 00:45:06,473
and the fresh fruit market is
small, but juice is huge.

959
00:45:06,540 --> 00:45:08,542
And then, after the
sweetened dried cranberry,

960
00:45:08,609 --> 00:45:10,377
or Craisin, was invented,

961
00:45:10,444 --> 00:45:13,013
now Craisins and
sweetened dried cranberries

962
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,216
are the most consumed form
of cranberry,

963
00:45:16,283 --> 00:45:17,484
with juice falling behind

964
00:45:17,551 --> 00:45:20,888
and sauce and fresh
left behind again.

965
00:45:20,954 --> 00:45:25,959
So, Dr. Ikeda is both working
on some of the inherent--

966
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:30,063
Proanthocyanidins are
the color compound of cranberry.

967
00:45:30,130 --> 00:45:33,333
And that's also got a lot
of antioxidant properties,

968
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:35,536
as well as a couple
of antibacterial properties.

969
00:45:35,602 --> 00:45:37,971
And so, Dr. Ikeda
is working on those.

970
00:45:38,038 --> 00:45:41,275
That USDA NRCS column
is largely--

971
00:45:41,842 --> 00:45:44,978
The federally-funded
researchers tend to work

972
00:45:45,045 --> 00:45:48,949
on core, basic,
elemental-level science

973
00:45:50,017 --> 00:45:53,420
that's gonna take
20 to 30 years to develop

974
00:45:53,487 --> 00:45:54,922
and be usable to the growers.

975
00:45:54,988 --> 00:46:00,160
But we absolutely need to invest
in that basic science.

976
00:46:00,227 --> 00:46:01,562
And then, the next column,

977
00:46:01,628 --> 00:46:05,065
this CALS faculty, are the
College of Ag and Life Sciences

978
00:46:05,132 --> 00:46:06,500
at the University of Wisconsin,

979
00:46:06,567 --> 00:46:09,970
and they're solving sometimes
the 20- and 30-year questions,

980
00:46:10,037 --> 00:46:12,039
but also the two-year
and five-year

981
00:46:12,105 --> 00:46:13,740
and one-year questions.

982
00:46:13,807 --> 00:46:15,609
So, you'll say to Jed,

983
00:46:15,676 --> 00:46:19,112
"Hey, Jed, I've always had
these woody perennials

984
00:46:19,179 --> 00:46:21,715
"like dewberry and maple trees
that are problem weeds.

985
00:46:21,782 --> 00:46:23,383
"But in the last two years,

986
00:46:23,450 --> 00:46:25,219
"I saw that I've also got
Virginia creeper.

987
00:46:25,285 --> 00:46:26,620
What can I do about that?"

988
00:46:26,687 --> 00:46:28,188
And Jed, as the weed scientist,

989
00:46:28,255 --> 00:46:29,957
is going to come up
with responses

990
00:46:30,023 --> 00:46:32,025
that we can do
with that Virginia creeper.

991
00:46:32,092 --> 00:46:33,260
Jed is also doing research

992
00:46:33,327 --> 00:46:36,663
on where weeds come from
in new beds.

993
00:46:37,731 --> 00:46:39,666
So, he's taking samples--

994
00:46:39,733 --> 00:46:42,102
When you plant a new bed,
ideally,

995
00:46:42,169 --> 00:46:44,171
if you do good weed control
up front,

996
00:46:44,238 --> 00:46:47,207
you won't have to chase it
and make it harder over time.

997
00:46:47,274 --> 00:46:49,843
So, he's taking samples
of the soil from new beds,

998
00:46:49,910 --> 00:46:51,578
the water from new beds,

999
00:46:51,645 --> 00:46:54,348
the dike seeding material
from new beds,

1000
00:46:54,414 --> 00:46:57,718
and the pallets that new vines
are brought in on and said,

1001
00:46:57,784 --> 00:46:59,520
"Oh, we have to start
cleaning our pallets

1002
00:46:59,586 --> 00:47:02,256
because that's bringing a lot
of weed seeds."

1003
00:47:02,322 --> 00:47:04,024
So, really cool research
like that.

1004
00:47:04,091 --> 00:47:06,460
Amaya Atucha focuses
on plant physiology,

1005
00:47:06,527 --> 00:47:11,198
and so she is the person
that everyone comes with--

1006
00:47:11,265 --> 00:47:15,269
comes to with questions
for spring frost protection,

1007
00:47:15,335 --> 00:47:18,372
for when the plant comes into
and out of dormancy,

1008
00:47:18,438 --> 00:47:20,874
and then, also,
in the perennial plant,

1009
00:47:20,941 --> 00:47:22,776
when does it take in nutrients

1010
00:47:22,843 --> 00:47:25,112
and when does it store nutrients
in the fruit,

1011
00:47:25,179 --> 00:47:27,347
versus the leaves,
versus the roots,

1012
00:47:27,414 --> 00:47:29,183
so that we can make applications

1013
00:47:29,249 --> 00:47:31,485
when the plant
is going to use them.

1014
00:47:31,552 --> 00:47:35,155
We're currently hiring
a new entomology role

1015
00:47:35,222 --> 00:47:37,324
at that tactical level.

1016
00:47:37,391 --> 00:47:40,294
Leslie Holland is a doctor
of plant pathology,

1017
00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:43,297
and she's been doing
really cool research on some

1018
00:47:43,363 --> 00:47:45,566
of those fungal pathogens
I talked about.

1019
00:47:45,632 --> 00:47:47,434
But there's also--

1020
00:47:49,002 --> 00:47:51,438
There was
an insect pest back in the '30s

1021
00:47:51,505 --> 00:47:53,774
that almost ended the industry
by spread--

1022
00:47:53,841 --> 00:47:55,642
Kind of like a tick
spreads Lyme disease,

1023
00:47:55,709 --> 00:47:58,512
this blunt-nosed leafhopper
spreads false blossom disease,

1024
00:47:58,579 --> 00:48:00,247
which is an incurable disease

1025
00:48:00,314 --> 00:48:03,250
that prevents the plant
from making fruit.

1026
00:48:03,317 --> 00:48:07,788
And needing to find out
how many of those insects

1027
00:48:09,857 --> 00:48:12,359
are around before it's a
problem, and can we cure it?

1028
00:48:12,426 --> 00:48:17,397
And if we cut the top off of it,
is it still there in the roots?

1029
00:48:17,464 --> 00:48:19,099
And so, all these kinds
of cool questions

1030
00:48:19,166 --> 00:48:20,901
that haven't been--

1031
00:48:20,968 --> 00:48:23,270
We had this pest kind of vanish

1032
00:48:23,337 --> 00:48:27,441
and then resurge
almost a century later.

1033
00:48:27,508 --> 00:48:31,678
Matt Digman is doing a lot
of research and development,

1034
00:48:31,745 --> 00:48:33,680
I guess, in the ag engineering
space.

1035
00:48:33,747 --> 00:48:36,683
So, Juan Zalapa has
his research beds

1036
00:48:36,750 --> 00:48:40,420
of 3,000 different
cranberry species.

1037
00:48:40,921 --> 00:48:44,725
Dr. Digman and his group
have invented a little robot

1038
00:48:44,791 --> 00:48:47,494
that can drive over them
and take pictures

1039
00:48:47,561 --> 00:48:50,030
to take
phenological measurements,

1040
00:48:50,097 --> 00:48:52,099
to say,
"What's the yield on this one?"

1041
00:48:52,165 --> 00:48:56,403
Or, "How fast did this one
fill in its planting zone

1042
00:48:56,470 --> 00:48:58,405
so that it's outcompeting
weeds?"

1043
00:48:58,472 --> 00:49:01,708
Or, "Is this one coming out
of dormancy earlier or later?

1044
00:49:01,775 --> 00:49:03,844
Are these fruits larger
or smaller?"

1045
00:49:03,911 --> 00:49:06,113
So, great measurements
to help with--

1046
00:49:06,180 --> 00:49:08,615
with everything that we're doing
in the genetic space.

1047
00:49:08,682 --> 00:49:11,185
And then,
many of the CALS faculty

1048
00:49:11,251 --> 00:49:15,322
have a co-posting
with UW Division of Extension.

1049
00:49:15,389 --> 00:49:17,658
And that's kind of,
as I mentioned earlier,

1050
00:49:17,724 --> 00:49:20,060
the CALS faculty are focused
on research,

1051
00:49:20,127 --> 00:49:21,728
but for the portion
of their appointment

1052
00:49:21,795 --> 00:49:25,132
that is Extension, that's
talking directly to growers.

1053
00:49:25,199 --> 00:49:26,333
And so, part of my role

1054
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:28,702
as the Cranberry Outreach
Specialist is connecting

1055
00:49:28,769 --> 00:49:33,240
these CALS faculty and these
USDA faculty with the growers.

1056
00:49:33,307 --> 00:49:36,510
I'm hosting
annual research roundtables,

1057
00:49:36,577 --> 00:49:38,245
where after the growing season,

1058
00:49:38,312 --> 00:49:40,180
people will come together
and say,

1059
00:49:40,247 --> 00:49:41,715
"Here was my problem this year.

1060
00:49:41,782 --> 00:49:44,518
"Here's what I think we need
to do in the next year or two.

1061
00:49:44,585 --> 00:49:47,120
"Here's what I think we need
to do in the next 20 years.

1062
00:49:47,187 --> 00:49:49,056
Which of those problems
are research-shaped?"

1063
00:49:49,122 --> 00:49:50,657
And then, all of the researchers
can say,

1064
00:49:50,724 --> 00:49:51,825
"Oh, that's a great one.

1065
00:49:51,892 --> 00:49:53,227
"I'm gonna go put in my grant

1066
00:49:53,293 --> 00:49:54,428
that the growers
really need this."

1067
00:49:54,494 --> 00:49:56,029
And they've heard directly
from growers to see

1068
00:49:56,096 --> 00:49:58,031
that they do need this,
and so I'm very proud

1069
00:49:58,098 --> 00:50:01,301
that
the shape of cranberry research

1070
00:50:01,368 --> 00:50:05,839
is really guided
by what the growers themselves

1071
00:50:06,573 --> 00:50:08,909
actually observed themselves
needing.

1072
00:50:08,976 --> 00:50:11,545
And, yeah, I want to close

1073
00:50:11,612 --> 00:50:15,949
with a few gorgeous
cranberry harvest photos.

1074
00:50:18,285 --> 00:50:21,989
And, again, just extremely proud
to be from Wisconsin,

1075
00:50:22,055 --> 00:50:24,958
the, for the last--
Since 1995,

1076
00:50:26,260 --> 00:50:29,563
the largest producer of
cranberries in the United States

1077
00:50:29,630 --> 00:50:33,166
and in the world,
because of Wisconsin's climate,

1078
00:50:33,233 --> 00:50:34,801
because of Wisconsin's culture,

1079
00:50:34,868 --> 00:50:38,005
because
of Wisconsin's innovation,

1080
00:50:38,071 --> 00:50:40,974
because of the gifts
that the glaciers gave us,

1081
00:50:41,041 --> 00:50:44,845
and because of the gifts of all
of the people who live here.

1082
00:50:44,912 --> 00:50:46,914
[audience applauds]