JR Nemitz Cranberry Co., Inc. is located in the village of Warrens. Owner Adam Nemitz said his grandfather started as manager in 1956 and then purchased the business in 1973. The Nemitz's marsh is comprised of 83 acres with six different varieties.
Nemitz said it's a lot of hard work, beginning with the frost watches in the spring, bug and weed control, and constant equipment maintenance all leading up to harvest in the fall.
Cranberries grow on a low vine and in order to be harvested, the bogs are flooded with about 12 to 18 inches of water. The berries are then corralled into one location, pushed up a conveyor belt, dumped into a truck, and taken away for cleaning.
According to the Wisconsin Cranberry Growers Association, Wisconsin is the nation's leading producer of cranberries, harvesting more than 60 percent of the country's total crop. Specifically, the agricultural layout in Central and Northern Wisconsin create the perfect growing conditions.
"It's a lower pH, typically five and a half and below on the pH. The other thing is, more lowlands so there's a lot of water. It takes a lot of water just from irrigating frost watch, to harvest flood, to winter floods, just a lot of water is one of the biggest things that holds it here," added Nemitz.
Once the cranberries at JR Nemitz Cranberry Co., Inc. are harvested, they are transported by semi truck to the Copper Road Receiving Station near Wyeville, Wisconsin where they are undergo a final clean, are binned, and tested. From that location part of the crop is sold to the Warrens area and another part to Wisconsin Rapids.
