ROCHESTER, Mass. – Cranberries are synonymous with Thanksgiving, and Massachusetts produces the second most cranberries of any U.S. state, behind only Wisconsin.

In Rochester, Massachusetts, just eight miles north of New Bedford, Hartley Family Farm offered public tours of their cranberry bog for the first time this fall. The farm’s owners say it’s a way to create a new revenue stream while creating an informative, interactive experience for visitors.

“It’s pure joy for people to come and experience this,” said Scott Hartley of Hartley Family Farm.

Glenn Cagle, a visitor from Houston, Texas, expressed surprise at the complexity of cranberry cultivation. “I think it’s great,” he said. “I didn’t know that so much effort goes into growing and picking. I didn’t even know there was a difference between dry and wet harvesting.”

Both wet and dry harvesting methods are used on the farm. Wet harvesting involves collecting cranberries from the bog to use for cranberry sauce or juice. In contrast, when dry harvested, cranberries can be packaged and sold in the produce department.

“The dry harvesting that I’m most involved with is really labor intensive,” Hartley said. “It’s old-fashioned, it’s about walking, putting berries in a huge burlap sack and dragging that burlap sack out of the bog.”

Cranberry harvest at Hartley Family Farm begins in October and continues until mid-November. Cold nights are crucial for the ripening of the berries. “When it’s cold, the berries turn red quicker,” Harley said.

However, temperatures that are too low can endanger the harvest. “If it gets too cold in the fall, we could lose berries, we could lose the entire crop, so we have to be very careful,” Hartley said.

To protect the berries, an irrigation system is automatically activated when temperatures fall below 24 degrees, which is considered a danger zone for cranberries. “Irrigation freezes and insulates the berries,” he explained.

Cranberry growers like the Hartleys continue to battle the elements to ensure this Thanksgiving staple stays on tables across the country.