Joanna Steidle
Hamptons Drone Art, LLC
Cranberry Harvest
Cranberry bog harvesting is a fascinating process, steeped in tradition and ingenuity. This aerial photograph was taken in Carver, Massachusetts where sandy, acidic soil and a cool climate are just right. Late October is usually peak harvesting time and Carver is well known for their bogs.
This was a relatively warm day full of sun, a blend of nature’s palette and human ingenuity, seen from a perspective that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. When you send a drone up over a cranberry bog, especially during the wet harvest in fall, you get a view that’s almost painterly. From above, the flooded bogs transform millions of ruby-red berries floating in dense, swirling patterns, corralled by those booms into abstract shapes. The contrast is striking, vivid red against the dark water, framed by the muted greens and browns of the surrounding vines and sandy soil. It’s like witnessing a living canvas.
Historically, cranberries were a Native American staple, used for food, dye, and medicine, long before European settlers turned them into a Thanksgiving fixture.
Captured here is the corralling process. After the bogs are flooded (wet harvesting) and the cranberries are dislodged from the vines using water reels the berries float to the surface. This is where corralling comes in. Growers use floating strips which are long, flexible barriers, often made of wood or plastic to herd the cranberries into a concentrated area. Farmers in waders nudge a sea of red berries across the water.
The process is both practical and strategic. Floating cranberry masses are worked by wading through the floating cranberry masses or gently pulling or pushing them to tighten the cluster. The goal is to form a dense, manageable patch that can be easily scooped up as seen here.
Once corralled, the berries are either sucked up by pumps into trucks or lifted out with conveyor systems, depending on the setup. The pumps are like giant wet vacuums, pulling berries and water together, while conveyors scoop them directly onto waiting trailers. It’s efficient, hundreds of pounds can be moved in minutes and the water cushions the berries, keeping damage low for processing into juice or sauce.
