. Cranberries; : the national cranberry magazine. Cranberries. BRUNl Ut DAMAGE More than 1000 acres of cran- berry crops were damaged by 11 inches of rain that fell on a six-mile radius of Wareham, Mass. early in August, according to John Ropes, director of grower relations at Ocean Spray Co. Ropes estimated about 300 acres of cranberry bogs would be severely damaged, while much of the re- maining crops would have a reduc- tion in quality. "I can't remember anything like this happening in the 31 years I've been in the business. It probably means a total crop loss for those o
. Cranberries; : the national cranberry magazine. Cranberries. BRUNl Ut DAMAGE More than 1000 acres of cran- berry crops were damaged by 11 inches of rain that fell on a six-mile radius of Wareham, Mass. early in August, according to John Ropes, director of grower relations at Ocean Spray Co. Ropes estimated about 300 acres of cranberry bogs would be severely damaged, while much of the re- maining crops would have a reduc- tion in quality. "I can't remember anything like this happening in the 31 years I've been in the business. It probably means a total crop loss for those of us on the Weweantic River," said Jean Gibbs of Wareham. She started growing cranberries when she mar- ried her husband, PhiUip, a third generation cranberry grower. She said they and her husband's family own about 50 acres of bogs that were two feet under water for six days. They don't expect to save much of their crop. Normally at this time, the ber- ries would be getting their color and becoming firm, said Gibbs. Instead the berries became water- logged and "scalded" from the sun heating the water that covered the vines. The result, she said, will be undersized, mushy, green cranber- ries. Gibbs said before the storm she was expecting an above average yield of over 1600 barrels of cranberries this fall. Each barrel usually nets $16. "If it's wiped out," she said, "it means every penny we've put in the bog since last harvest time (Septem- ber) will be for ; She said she won't know for certain whether any cranberries will be saved until later in August. The Gibbs had a particularly hard time trying to save their crops because of drainage problems. Had they been able to drain their bogs in 72 hours, they might have been able to save more of their crop. Ropes said. Unfortunately, they Uve at the southern end of Weweantic River and Crane Brook, into which more than 3000 acres of local bogs drain. The rainwater plus the runoff from every
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