It started with a farm planMatthew Rhodes, Cranberry Grower I Edgewood Bogs [Carver, Massachusetts

When Matt Rhodes purchasedEdgewood Bogs in 2005, fruit

prices were down. He knew that meantthe time was ripe to renovate his•..•_::J ..•.•Dr •...•I.•.••••.•••:::tll¥l ..ul ...•.....•. h...•.h......••.•••"'"

restructuring the bogs into shapes thatare more efficient to manage, Rhodescould increase production; whileconserving important natural resources.

He got in touch with the USDANaturalResources Conservation Service (NRCS)office in West Wareham, Massachusettsand the Plymouth County ConservationDistrict (PCCD)for help.

Since we farm in a wetlandenvironment, we're always trying toconserve whether it's water or thesurrounding environment.

lilt started with a farm plan, just anoverall picture of what we had here,where we could expand, what wouldbe the best way to add on to the bogs;

was still low on fruit we didn't have awhole lot of money but we used theprogram funding to start to renovate thebogs:'

Rhodes received technical and financialassistance from NRCSthrough theEnvironmental Quality hicentivesProgram (EQIP).EQIPis a voluntaryprogram that helps agriculturalproducers and forest land owners toimprove and protect soil,water, air,plants and wildlife habitat.

PCCD'sfarm planners helped Rhodesdevelop a comprehensive, customizedfarm plan that defined his land use andsuggested best management practicesr~. '.'J t.•,,~ •.•~. '7 I •• ~ J•...•.•le, easy tounderstand manner.

"We did everything from state-of-the-artspacing on the sprinkler heads and pop-up sprinklers, to automation, new pumpsand tailwater recovery. We had one of thefirst farm plans for tailwater recovery inthe state:' .

Tailwater recovery is the capture andreuse of irrigation water.

"Since we farm in a wetlandenvironment, we're always trying toconserve, whether it's water or thesurrounding environment;' says Rhodes."Through NRCS,the Cape Cod CranberryGrowers Association and UMassExtension, growers have been educatedabout natural resources and how tomake improvements:'

The cranberry is a Native Americanwetland fruit that grows on trailing vineslike a strawberry. The vines thrive on thespecial combination of soils and waterproperties found in wetlands. Cranberriesgrow in beds layered with sand, peat andgravel. These beds, commonly known asbogs or marshes,were originally formedas a result of glacial deposits.

Cranberries can be either dry harvested orwet harvested. Dry harvesting uses walk-behind machines to comb the berriesoff the vines into burlap bags. Berries arethen removed from the bogs by eitherbog vehicles or helicopters. Dry harvestedcranberries are used to supply the freshfruit market. These cranberries are mostoften used for cooking and baking.

Matt Rhodes has increased production whileconserving natural resources by makingmanagement of his Carver, Mass. cranberrybogs more efficient.

In wet harvesting, the bogs are flooded.Cranberries have pockets of air inside50 they float. Water reels are used to stirup the water in the bogs, dislodging thefruit from the vine. Wooden or plastic"booms" are used to round up theberries, which are then lifted by conveyoror pumped into a truck to take themto the receiving station for cleaning.More than 90 percent of the crop is wetharvested. Wet harvested cranberries areused for juices, sauces, sweetened driedcranberries, or as an ingredient in otherprocessed foods.

"The more uniform the bogs are, theeasier it is to get a good applicationpattern down:' says Rhodes. "Thesprinklers are laid out more evenly. Whenwe go to harvest, the picking machinesare only going straight up and down;there's no extra cornering.

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More uniform bogs make ground applicationsand harvesting more efficient because corneringwith equipment is easier.

"Cornering is one of the hardest thingsto do, whether you're making groundapplications or harvesting or applyingfertilizer with a helicopter. 50 the lonqerana straighter the bogs are, the quickerand more efficient everything is:'

"We do a lot of dry harvest and it'sespecially hard to make corners with a dryharvester, so once the machines are goingstraight, they just stay straight for a longtime;' says Rhodes who farms more than500 acres in Rochester, Plymouth, Carver,Hanson, Pembroke and Wareham.

Because NRC5funds automationequipment, water can be conserved onfrost nights, when sprinklers are run towarm the bogs up. The system can beprogrammed to shut itself on and offinstead of growers just turning the pumpon at night when it's cold then waitinguntil the next morning to shut it off.

With the help of NRCS,Rhodes alsobuilt a bypass canal around his entirenrnnprhi Th,:::l r;tn~1 'tioe in tn::l ru'rn •...ino

station that pumps the water a half mileback up underground through a pipesystem that is completely enclosed now.Allthe water used by the operation isrecirculated.

Rhodes's bogs are all laser-leveled tominimize water usage. Less water isrequired to flood a bog during harvestand since they're built with a one foot

differential, once one bog is flooded, thesame water can be applied to the nextbog and continue down the line, creatingefficiencies.

"Although we have a large reservoirthat we can draw for harvest, during

. the season we typically just keeprecirculating the water, using it over andover again;' says Rhodes.

Southeastern Massachusetts is the heartof the Bay State's cranberry growingregion. Urbanization is probably one ofthe top challenges in this coastal areajust south of Boston. Summer cottageshave become year-round residences forBoston commuters.

"We work very hard at neighbor issues.We notify every single neighbor oneverything we do. We set up a phonetree to notify neighbors when we werefertilize or spray;' explains Rhodes."It's so densely populated, there's noway to prevent people from walkingthe property. 50 we continue to notifypeople so they feel better about whatwe're doing:'

"We want to protect the water. It's thebiggest key resource;' says Rhodes. "Youhave to protect the quality and volumeof the water that's necessary to growcranberries. Since this area is developed,there's competition for water becauseeveryone uses ie

Sand resources are also important tocranberry growers. Cranberry operationsrequire a lot of "",nr! to rphllilr! pvic:tinnDOgSana plant new bogs.

Massachusetts cranberry growers alsoflood their bogs in the winter to protectthe cranberry vines from the frigidtemperatures and drying winds. The coldtemperatures turn the floodwater intoice, allowing cranberry growers to accesstheir bogs with equipment to spreadsand, which stimulates vine growth.

Rhodes points out that sand is veryexpensive. Since it's used for septicsystems and by asphalt plants,development drives the cost of sand up.Once a grower runs out of sand, he or shehas to buy a parcel of land with sand onit or buy from someone who processessand. Trucking in sand is extremelyexpensive.

"Open space is important to the publicand to us:' says Rhodes. "We supporta lot of open space. For every acre ofcranberry bog, at least three acres ofsupport land are maintained:'

Rhodes can't say enough about thetechnical advice he qets from NRCS."That's part ot our farm plan and youcan't put a price tag on it. It's huge toknow that Ican pick up the phone andcall NRCS.It's a great resource:'

"The West Wareham [Field Office] staffhave been very helpful, very supportiveand provided a lot of guidance. Ifeel likeIcan go there and ask questions andthey're going to tell me straight up. Ifthey don't know the answer, they get theanswer. I'd say I'm in touch with the NRC5office at least twice a week. It's alwaysbeen a good experience:' •

The by-pass canal built with NRCSassistanceroutes water around Rhodes' entire property. Allthe water used is recirculated.

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