DeGrandChamp Farms - Member Profile - Cranberries

For a low-ground cover vine like cranberries, the yields are pretty incredible, says Adam Shinske, a partner at DeGrandchamp Farms.
“For blueberries, 10,000-pound-per-acre yield is a nice yield,” Shinske tells Farm News Media.
“Some of the modern hybrid cultivars in cranberries can do 50,000 pounds an acre. So, last year on 42 acres, we did 998,000 pounds packed-out cranberries for Ocean Spray, which always just strikes me as pretty amazing. We really enjoy growing the cranberries.”
DeGrandchamp Farms also grows 300 acres of berries and operates a full-scale nursery, farm store, and ice cream shop.
According to Shinske, the operation will do about 30,000 pounds in fresh fruit sales each year, with the remainder going to Ocean Spray, a farmer-owned cooperative that provides and manufactures cranberry juice drinks and related products, including using the cranberries from DeGrandchamps in juice cocktails or craisins.
Every autumn — mid-September until around mid-November in North America — cranberries reach their peak of color and flavor and are ready for harvesting. The DeGrandchamps are a third-generation specialty crop operation now run by Adam, Sarah, Katelyn, Molly, and Nick, who’ve all stepped “forward to lead the next chapter” from parents Judy, Mike, Joe, and Bob.
“One of the main benefits and things that we like about cranberries is really the economics of the harvest: They're an easy berry to bring into the packing facility,” Shinske said.
“We have three guys that can bring in 120,000 pounds of cranberries in one day for us.”