Cranberry farmers turning old bogs into wetlands

CARVER, MASSACHUSETTS – It’s peak season for cranberry farmers in southeastern Massachusetts. The Bay State ranks second behind Wisconsin in cranberry production across the U.S.

“Massachusetts has an incredibly robust cranberry industry,” says Karen Cahill, deputy executive director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association. 

She tells FOX that a 2023 economic study showed a $1.7 billion contribution to the state’s economy and support of nearly 6,400 jobs in the area.   

But one cranberry farmer in the state says it’s becoming harder to grow in Massachusetts. 

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Jarrod Rhodes, a fourth-generation cranberry farmer in Carver, Massachusetts, produces 50,000 barrels – or 5 million pounds – of cranberries a year on his family farm. His family founded Edgewood Bogs LLC in the early 1940s. The Rhodes launched Cape Cod Select in 2009, where they process a portion of their own fruit for the frozen retail market, he said. 

But rising costs and changing weather patterns are adding pressure. 

“It kind of all adds up, and it becomes a lot more expensive to grow here versus Wisconsin or Canada,” Rhodes said. 

Cahill added, “Massachusetts is an expensive place to do business in general, driven by high costs for labor, utilities, and real estate.” 

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She also says one key difference is the size of Massachusetts compared to Wisconsin alone. 

“The scale in Wisconsin is significantly larger – more than double the acreage in Massachusetts – and doing anything at scale tends to make it less expensive,” she said. 

With these pressures in mind, Rhodes turned to a state program to retire and restore more than 30 acres of older bogs. 

“The property was in distress and it needed to be rebuilt,” he says. 

The state’s Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) runs a cranberry bog program that converts retired bogs back to native wetlands. 

Over the past decade, DER has restored multiple unprofitable bogs, including the Eel River Headwaters Restoration. DER’s website says Atlantic white cedar has rebounded, wetlands now cover former farm surfaces, and river herring have returned upstream. 

Rhodes knew of an unprofitable bog and applied for the program, which is funded by state and federal grants. 

“We decided to not rebuild this but take the money and buy a better property,” he said. 

The Rhodes now farm less acreage, but the retired bog will be permanently protected as wetland, and the family is investing the proceeds in higher-yielding fields. 

DER describes the approach as a “green exit strategy,” in which families such as the Rhodes are compensated through restoration grants and conversation easements to convert bogs to wetlands. 

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Krista Haas of DER said land must be legally protected before construction begins. 

“This places a deed restriction on the land, which restricts certain activities such as development,” Haas said. “Conservation easements are often done through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wetland Reserve Easement (WRE) Program.” 

As more projects take shape, Rhodes said many growers are considering the same path. Some are nearing retirement, and younger generations are “not as interested,” he said. The Rhodes’ wetland restoration is scheduled for completion in spring 2026. 

DER’s executive director Beth Lambert said the agency’s goal is to restore 1,000 acres over the next 10 to 15 years.