Family farming in Wisconsin has been historically one of the most traditional ways to farm. Only recently have large corportate farms begun to undercut the family farms. Much can be learned from the farmers who milk cows by hand, bail their own hay, and harvest their own cranberries. The picture above is of my grandfather, Tom Ruesch, with his grandson Evan Ruesch. From an early age, my aunt and uncle have been teaching Evan about the land the farm is on, the animals it houses, and the crops it produces. Not surprisingly, Evan loves John Deere toys and hopes to be a farmer someday.
Recently, I sat down with my grandfather and he explained the organic cranberry process and his involvement with it to me.
The organic cranberry marsh is operated like a commercial marsh: water, weeding etc. However, rather than pesticides to kill insects and herbicides to kill grass, we employ natural methods to keep grass under control and use natural methods to kill the black headed fire-worm and cranberry fruit worm. (Flooding in late May for BHFW) Flooding suppresses weed growth and kills fruit worm eggs. He learned how to farm by reading publications and asking neighboring organic farmers, and trial and error. The most important thing new organic farmers should know is not to expect high yields especially at first. They should expect more work, but also satisfaction in knowing that you have raised a crop of fruit that has not been chemically touched in any way. Since it is a small marsh, the tools they use are limited to a mechanical cranberry rake, so you get berries off the vines without flooding first. Also knuckle grease. At various times throughout the year, different numbers of people are involved in the cranberry production process. In the summer, it’s just him to watch the berries, but in the fall 5-10 people are needed for harvest, sorting and packaging. In this way, the job hasn’t really changed at all since he started 15 years ago, although more people are willing to help sort now because he has a lot more berries to go around. Below is a picture of my mom helping sort berries.
 The most common problems on the marsh are pest control, using organic fertilizers at the right time of the year for maximum cranberry growth, and having enough water in the reservoir. Is an upland marsh, and this is actually one of the biggest problems for him. Some of the things he enjoys most are seeing a payoff (with cranberries and money), being outside, and being in a pretty environment. Learning all of this from my grandfather is a perfect example of how family farming traditions are passed down!
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