Cranberry harvest gets underway in New Jersey pine barrens

CHATSWORTH, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Cranberries float peacefully in the bogs near Chatsworth, Burlington County until the loud blowers come in to push them toward their final destination.

Stefanie Haines took Action News out for a look at the harvest at Pine Island Cranberry Company.

She's the fifth generation in her family to grow the berries in New Jersey.

"It is one of the few crops that can be grown in the Pine Barrens, which is in itself a unique ecosystem," said Haines. "It's the acidic, sandy soil. Cranberries and blueberries are basically what can be grown out here and we have to be very careful about how we do it."

When the cranberries are ready, the bogs are flooded and a machine loosens the berries, which float to the top.

Then the floating berries are gathered up and brought to one end of the bog, where they're pumped out and loaded onto a truck.

"Once the berries go through the berry pump at the bog-side cleaner and into the truck, they continue on to the Ocean Spray receiving station in Chatsworth. And Ocean Spray takes care of it from there. It'll go to freezers, it'll go to be processed," Haines said.

Pine Island Cranberry Company grows around eight different varieties of cranberries.

On this day, they harvested the Demoranville cranberries, which are among the larger varieties that they grow.

On average, Haines says the farm harvests around 30 million pounds of cranberries from the bogs each year.

According to the state, New Jersey ranks third in the nation when it comes to cranberry production.

Last year, $20 million worth was sold from the Garden State.

Each year the tangy fruit is celebrated with festivals in the fall.

"Cranberries are such a part of everybody's family tradition and I don't think people realize that it stems from another family tradition," said Haines. "Many farms are multigenerational."

Haines says so far the weather has been decent, but they're hoping for some more chilly nights to help ripen the berries.

The harvest will likely last through the end of October.