[NASA] Cranberry Country, Wisconsin

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3. Cranberry Country, Wisconsin

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October 13, 2025

Known as America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin produces the 

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 of any state and 

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 in the production of milk. Less famously, the state outpaces all others in a key part of many Thanksgiving menus. Wisconsin is the 

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 in the U.S., with its annual hauls accounting for more than half of the country’s total yield.

The wetlands, cool climate, and sandy, acidic soils of central and northern Wisconsin provide the foundation for raising the tart berry successfully. This satellite image shows geometric networks of cranberry beds alongside small lakes near the town of Warrens, the “Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin.” It was acquired with the 

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 (Operational Land Imager-2) on 

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 on October 13, 2025, during the autumn harvest season.

When berries are ripe, growers 

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 with up to a foot of water and then use specialized machines to knock fruit off the vines. Because cranberries contain pockets of air, they float to the surface—turning entire fields red—to be 

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. Beds are not all flooded at once; satellite images acquired throughout the fall show 

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 at different times.

Cranberries are native to Wisconsin marshes, and Native Americans have harvested the fruit for centuries. 

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 began in the mid-19th century and expanded as technology and cultivation methods improved. Around 1950, harvesting largely shifted from hand rakes to machines. By 1956, Wisconsin was the second-largest cranberry producer in the U.S. after 

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, and in 1994 it took over the top spot. Today, cranberries in Wisconsin are an approximately 

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 that employs nearly 4,000 people.

In mid-November, as Thanksgiving approaches, the brilliant red berries are on their way to be sold in markets or processed for use in sauces, juices, and other products. Meanwhile, the vines 

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 and go dormant. Growers prepare the beds for winter by again flooding the fields to cover plants in a 

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. They also coat the ice in sand, which will become part of the substrate and rejuvenate growth in the spring. With the right care, a cranberry plant can produce fruit for 

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.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the 

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. Story by 

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.

References & Resources

• Esri StoryMaps 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2022, November 24) 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac (2025, October 1) 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.
• US Cranberries 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.
• Wisconsin Historical Society 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.
• Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (2025) 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.
• Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association (2018, May 21) 
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  . Accessed November 26, 2025.

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October 13, 2025

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