Ontario Cranberry Industry

Table of Contents 

1. Industry Overview
2. Resources
3. Hazards
4. Start-Up Costs
5. Costs Per Acre
6. Return
7. Feasibility

Industry Overview

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) may be grown in acid peat bogs or acid sand beds. The Ontario industry is peat-based and consists primarily of 2 commercial bogs located near Bala, Muskoka. New bogs have been established in Eastern Ontario, raising Ontario’s total acreage to 114 planted acres.

Ontario is a significant net user of cranberry products, importing close to 10 million dollars worth of cranberry products each year. Recent health reports linking cranberry juice to reduced urinary infections has created huge demand world-wide for the product.

The existing growers have recently formed The Ontario Cranberry Growers. This organization will allow the growers to represent the cranberry industry and to encourage orderly expansion of Ontario’s productive capacity and the value-added sector. New growers are encouraged to join the organization.

Production in Ontario is mainly on the Laurentian Shield and areas in eastern Ontario where granite bedrock predominates. This area is characterized by acidic sand or peat deposits, acidic water and the absence limestone. Main production areas in Canada are British Columbia and Quebec, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick expanding their production. However, there are thousands of acres of bogs and sands in Ontario that are suitable for cranberry production.

Wisconsin and Massachusetts have the highest acreage of cranberries in the United States. New Jersey, Oregon and Washington have significant production. Expansion in many of these areas is constrained by encroaching development and availability of suitable bogs or sand beds.

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Resources

1. Acid peat bog or acid sand bed. pH of 4.5 to 4.8 is about ideal

2. Large volumes of water with a low pH and free of calcium. The ability to control flooding (2X per year) for harvest and winter protection, and for irrigation. Good drainage, and the ability to re-circulate water is also important.

3. Available sand (preferably acid) to cover the beds every 2 to 3 years. Sand should have fairly large particle size.

Soil should be tested for pH and clay content below 12-inches deep. Acidity at this level is very important. Clay at lower levels is important to form an impermeable layer to hold flood water for harvest and frost control.

Hazards

Drought, frosts, insects and disease can all take their toll on the cranberry crop. As little as two hours of frost can destroy up to 50 percent of the cranberry crop. Frost alarms, irrigation systems in place and integrated pest management (IPM) systems are the vigilant growers’ tools.

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Start-up Costs

• $30,000 to $45,000 per acre.
• Require 2 to 3 years before harvest.
• Full harvest on year 5.

Costs Per Acre (Courtesy Nova Scotia Ministry of Agriculture and Marketing)

Economists agree that a minimum of 20 acres is needed to justify overhead costs. Threshold size to obtain the lowest per unit fixed costs would be 35 to 40 acres, according to Nova Scotia Ministry of Agriculture and Marketing. 

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Return

• 15,000 to 25,000 lbs. per acre
• $.80-.90 per lb. (processing)
• $1.50 per lb. fresh with good marketing.

Cash flow over the first 9 to 10 years is the major challenge facing new cranberry growers. After the grower has been in production (harvests) for 4 or 5 years, cash flow should come easier.

Feasibility

Like any new crop, success in cranberry production depends on a number of factors: skill in growing, ability to control or compensate for weather vagaries, insects and disease, and understanding production technology

But establishing a cranberry enterprise depends on many other related business skills: understanding the economic climate, knowing the players, marketing skills, financial stability and management, risk management, ability to assemble the right business team and advisors, and so on.

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