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New England Agricultural Statistics Service
- - - a field office of the
National Agricultural Statistics Service
United States Department of Agriculture
Aubrey R. Davis, Director Phone: (603) 224-9639
22 Bridge St, 3rd Floor Fax: (603) 225-1434
PO Box 1444 Internet: http://www.usda.gov/nass/
Concord, NH 03302-1444 E-Mail: nass.nh@nass.usda.gov
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Cranberries
January 2003
January 27, 2003
The following is an abbreviated version of the report.
The entire document is available as a PDF file on
the Internet through: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nh/
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A special "THANK YOU" goes to Massachusetts Cranberry
growers and handlers who have helped us by completing
cranberry surveys throughout the year.
2002 U.S. CRANBERRY PRODUCTION UP SIX PERCENT
Massachusetts: Cranberry production in Massachusetts totaled
1.46 million barrels in 2002, a three percent increase from
the previous year's production. Growers harvested 13,300
acres, 1,300 acres more than the previous year. This year's
crop yield was 109.8 barrels per acre, a decrease of 8.5
barrels per acre from the 2001 crop. Unlike the previous
two years, there was not a market order restriction which
limited how many barrels growers were allowed to sell.
In previous years, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS) only published an "all cranberry price." This
value was a weighted average of fresh and processed cranberry
prices. NASS received a number of requests from cranberry
growers and industry officials to publish fresh and processed
prices. Therefore, NASS is publishing fresh and processed
prices for the five states in the cranberry estimating program.
The "all cranberry price," which is a weighted average of the
fresh and processed prices, will continue to be published.
Cranberry handlers were contacted in the fall of 2002 for their
expected price paid to Massachusetts' growers for their 2002
crop. The Massachusetts' 2002 preliminary price for fresh
cranberries was $43.40 per barrel. The Massachusetts' 2002
preliminary price for processed cranberries was $26.70 per
barrel. The next price update for the 2002 cranberry crop will
be published in the Non-Citrus Fruits and Nuts Annual Summary
which is scheduled for release on July 8, 2003.
United States - Five Major States: The Nation's cranberry crop
totaled 5.6 million barrels in 2002, six percent above the 2001
production. Wisconsin continues to be the largest producing
cranberry state with 3.19 million barrels in total production.
Total U.S. cranberry acreage harvested was 36,400 acres, an
increase of 2,200 acres from the previous year. The U.S. 2002
preliminary price for fresh and processed cranberries was $43.50
and $26.20 per barrel respectively.
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Maine: According to Charles Armstrong, Cranberry Associate,
University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine's 2002
cranberry production was 20,450 barrels, a 14 percent increase
from the previous year. There were 219 acres of cranberries
harvested in Maine compared to 250.5 the previous year. The
statewide 2002 average was 53.4 barrels per acre.
This report is taken from the national Noncitrus Fruits and
Nuts - Preliminary Summary report published by USDA's National
Agricultural Statistics Service at 3:00 p.m. on January 24, 2003.
The Cranberries report is issued annually at 1:00 p.m. on the
third Tuesday of August.It contains production forecast of the
upcoming harvest.
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