Cranberry farmers turning old bogs into wetlands

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

“Massachusetts has an incredibly strong cranberry industry,” says Karen Cahill, the company’s executive vice president. Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association.

He told FOX that a 2023 economic study showed it contributed $1.7 billion to the state’s economy and supported about 6,400 jobs in the region.

But one cranberry farmer in the state says it’s getting harder to grow cranberries 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. family founded Edgewood Bogs LLC In the early 1940s. Rhodes said he started Cape Cod Select in 2009, where they process some of their own fruit for the frozen retail market.

However, rising costs and changing weather conditions increase the pressure.

“It all comes together and it becomes much more expensive to grow here than it is in Wisconsin or Canada,” Rhodes said.

“Massachusetts is generally an expensive place to do business, due to high labor, utilities and real estate costs,” Cahill added.

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He also says a key difference is the size of Massachusetts compared to just Wisconsin.

“The scale in Wisconsin is significantly larger (more than double the acreage in Massachusetts) and doing anything at that scale tends to make it cheaper,” he said.

Considering these pressures, Rhodes applied for a state program to retire and restore more than 30 acres of former marshland.

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

Cranberry bog in Carver, Massachusetts (Chelsea Torres)

The state’s Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) operates a cranberry bog program that transforms retired marshes back into native wetlands.

Over the past decade, DER has restored many unprofitable marshes, including the Eel River Headwater Restoration. DERs website says Atlantic white cedar has rebounded, wetlands now cover former farm surfaces, and river herring have returned upriver.

This old, unprofitable swamp will become a wetland in the spring of 2026. (Chelsea Torres)

Rhodes was aware of an unprofitable sinkhole and applied for the program, which was funded by state and federal grants.

“Instead of rebuilding it, we decided to take the money and buy a better property,” he said.

The Rhodes now farm less land, but the retired swamp will be permanently preserved as a wetland and the family is investing their income in higher productivity areas.

DER describes this approach as a “green exit strategy,” in which families like Rhodes are compensated through restoration grants and speaking privileges to convert marshes into wetlands.

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DER’s Krista Haas said the land must be legally protected before construction begins.

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

The state’s Division of Ecological Restoration says this is the first restoration project of the Eel River Headwaters near Plymouth. (State of Massachusetts Department of Ecological Restoration)

As more projects take shape, Rhodes said many growers are considering the same path. Some are approaching retirement, and younger generations “are not that interested,” he said. Rhodes wetland restoration is scheduled to be completed in spring 2026.

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