THE GROWER STUDY:

Determining the Immediate and Long Term Research and Technical Assistance Needs of Massachusetts Cranberry Growers

Project Director: Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D.
Conducted by: Ava Lescault, Stephanie O’Brien

The cranberry market is depressed because of an oversupply of fruit in the established domestic market. The impact on family farms is crippling. Massachusetts is particularly hard hit because the average farm size is small, and the cost of farming is high. In just two years, farmers have seen their market prices drop 80%, and are well below the cost of production. This has had a debilitating effect on farm families and a huge impact on our communities where jobs and supporting businesses have been eliminated and conservation of open space is at risk.

For all these reasons, a grant was awarded by the Cranberry Agricultural Research Committee to a market researcher, Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes, Director of the Slade’s Ferry Bank Center for Business Research at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in June of 2000. The resultant research identified several areas where there exists strong market potential for cranberry products. One of the untapped market segments identified in that research is the young adult market sometimes referred to as Generation X. This group represents 60 million people between the ages of 19-35 and has spending potential of $100 million.

Since the release of that study, Dr. Barnes has examined consumer awareness of the health benefits of cranberries (2001), and also the potential for an institutional account with the University of Massachusetts system (2001). The health awareness study indicated the need for more health-related communication from the industry while supporting strong consumer demand. The UMass system study showed strong interest among students for cranberry products available on the system’s campuses. All three studies have proposed new marketing opportunities as seen through the eyes of potential consumers who enjoy the products and want more of them. It is at this juncture that the growers should decide what kinds of opportunities they might want to pursue and how they might like to proceed.

The study presented here is a unique attempt to identify and meet the technical assistance and research needs of Massachusetts cranberry growers. The customized survey was developed as a result of contributions from growers, handlers and industry representatives, including CCCGA, the UMass Cranberry Experiment Station and the Cranberry Institute.

A review of existent literature yields many studies of agricultural groups focusing on production per acre. Studies are readily available on pest management and other horticultural and environmental issues as well. The human dimension has gone unexamined, making this a study pioneering effort to assess the needs of growers by directly surveying them. Given the months of data collection and the approximately 200 personal interviews conducted, this study provides an unusually comprehensive and reliable portrait of the needs of Massachusetts cranberry growers. It is the only such survey of cranberry farmers that has been conducted in this country or elsewhere.

Downloads

• Growers Study (PDF)
• Growers Study II (PDF)

Press Releases

• A sour note for cranberry farmers (Boston Globe)

Pictures courtesy of US Department of Agriculture