CRANBERRY HARVEST WITH OCEAN SPRAY

Richmond, British Columbia
by Susie Lee

For over 75 years, Ocean Spray has been the top producer of cranberries in Canada. In this unique adventure, I got to assist in the wet harvesting of cranberries, plus I was treated to an exclusive inside tour at Ocean Spray's receiving station in Richmond, British Columbia.

HARVESTING METHODS

My cranberry adventure began when Brian, an agricultural scientist with Ocean Spray, took me on a field trip to a cranberry field. Here I discovered the two methods used for harvesting cranberries, the dry method and the wet method.

In dry harvesting, growers use a mechanical picker that resembles a large lawnmower. The metal teeth in the machine combs the berries off the vines into a burlap sack. When they are ready to be transported off the field, a helicopter is often used to pick up the sacks filled with cranberries. This mode of transportation will help prevent the berries from getting squished or damaged. Dry harvesting is the best type of method for obtaining firm and fresh cranberries to be sold in stores.

In wet harvesting, growers flood the cranberry fields with up to eighteen inches of water. In our case, water from the Fraser River was pumped into the field we were on. In order to keep my clothes dry, I wore a one piece rubber overall as I carefully stepped into the flooded field. I was given the opportunity to operate the machine, nicknamed “the egg beater”. As I pushed the egg beater forward, the reels knocked the berries off their vines. Because the inside of a cranberry has tiny air pockets, the fruit is able to float on water.

IN THE FIELD

After the berries were separated from their vines, we corralled them into a section using a nylon material called a boom. We then raked and pushed the berries into the conveyor belt which moved the berries into the truck. I loved being surrounded in the sea of red berries and could have stayed in there longer if it weren’t for my legs getting numb from the cold water. I didn't know if this would be my first and last opportunity to be in a flooded cranberry field. So before I left, I couldn’t resist the urge to throw handfuls of cranberries into the air with Brian.

Once the berries were loaded into trucks, we followed the trucks to the Ocean Spray receiving station in Richmond. Cranberries obtained from the wet harvesting method are usually used for juice, jams, sauces, and dried cranberries

THE RECEIVING STATION

Once a truck arrives at the receiving station, it is weighed and a sample is taken for quality control. After passing the quality inspection, millions of red cranberries are dumped into a 10 foot pool of water. It looked like an endless sea of red lava flowing out of a volcano. Once in the pool, spay bars propel the cranberries up an elevator and into a series of shakers which sifts the berries from the debris and vines.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In this adventure, I got a first-hand look at how much energy and work goes into harvesting these tiny red berries. To give you an idea, the size of the field I was in filled fifteen trucks of cranberries. Each truck held up to fifty thousand pounds of cranberries and took about fifteen to twenty minutes to load. Getting my calculator out... That equals seven hundred fifty thousand pounds of cranberries in approximately five hours of loading time. Unbelievable! My thanks to Brian and Ocean Spray for this unforgettable cranberry adventure.

FUN FACTS

• British Columbia is the number three supplier of cranberries in the world (next to Wisconsin & Massachusetts)
• The value of cranberry sales in BC is $56.3 million (source: 2008 StatsCan)
• The quality and freshness of a cranberry can be evaluated using “the bounce test”. According to popular legend, John Webb, an early pioneer was not able to carry his cranberries down from his barn loft due to his peg leg. As a result, he ended up pouring the cranberries down the steps. At that moment, he realized that only the fresh berries bounced down the steps to the bottom while the damaged ones remained on the steps. Today, this bounce test method is used in receiving stations as cranberries are placed through a bounce board separator. Using this method, only the freshest berries go through the final cleaning process and are shipped out in wooden crates.

ADVENTURE TIPS

Cranberry harvests usually occur in the fall months of October and November. If you’re lucky, you can get a free glimpse of these beautiful flooded cranberry fields during this time. In Richmond, you might be able to see the cranberries fields if you drive along Cambie Road and No.7 Road.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.oceanspray.ca
www.oceanspray.com

+ Part 1: RICHMOND CRANBERRY HARVEST
+ Part 2: BC MUSEUM OF MINING

+ Download PDF One-sheet
+ Ocean Spray Canada