Cranberry sauce may not be the most popular trimming on the table this Thanksgiving, but some say it wouldn't be the holidays without it.
With everything from spices to turkeys in short supply this year, many are wondering if a cranberry shortage will put a damper on their feast.
The good news: things are looking up for cranberries.
The New York Post previously reported climate change has brought high temperatures and droughts, creating harsh conditions for cranberry crop production, particularly in the Northeast.
"We're getting these extreme weather conditions as the weather is changing where it's hotter than usual or rainier than usual," Greenwood Hartley III, who grows cranberries, told Sippican Week. "It's difficult for any farmer. Everybody is really struggling."
The season isn't over yet though, and the current outlook may actually be turning positive.
Many cranberry farmers are using pumps and water to maintain their crops and experts say some states, like Massachusetts, are even having some of their biggest crops ever.
The Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association is predicting a crop of 1.9 million barrels (189 million pounds) from the harvest in Massachusetts alone. Overall, the national crop is anticipated to deliver 8.3 million barrels, an increase of 24% from last year.
"Our pollination season was good this year, and overall, the crop looks solid. The lingering concern is the ongoing drought. The berries are still sizing and gaining water weight. With supplemental irrigation, our hard working and resourceful growers are keeping the vines alive and berries intact," CCCGA Executive Director Brian Wick said in a statement. "A few soaking rain events would help the berries reach their full potential."
Cranberries aren't grown in water, but water does play into their harvest. Cranberries grow on low-lying vines planted in beds layered with sand, peat and gravel -- commonly known as bogs. The berries are harvested in one of two ways. Most cranberries are wet harvested -- the bog is flooded, which agitates the berries from the vines and causes them to float up to the surface of the water. Less commonly, the berries are dry harvested with a mechanical picker, to be sold as fresh fruit.
Wick said consumers should expect to see "good quality fruit this fall." So, get ready all the fixins this Thanksgiving.
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