Partnerships That Help Growers Serve Their Land, Their Communities, and Each Other

Adrienne Mollor’s grandparents made their start in agriculture raising 10,000+ chickens, various livestock and annual crops in Southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. They made a good living until 1950s technology changes in poultry markets left livestock-cropping systems increasingly economically unviable. And many of their farming neighbors went out of business as land prices rose and suburban development increased.  

Today, as a woman entrepreneur, Adrienne has overcome these hurdles and transitioned the family’s first five acres of cranberry bog into a profitable business, part of over 14,000 acres planted with cranberries and an additional 40,000 acres of support land and wetlands in the area. Adrienne’s cranberry marshes preserve open land and biodiversity; recharge the aquifer; provide flood control and stormwater drainage; protect and preserve habitats for plants, fish, and animals; filter the groundwater; store carbon; and are part of a $1.4 billion state industry providing economic growth and local employment. The distinctive cranberry cropping system is working to meet a number of climate change challenges, such as the reduction in winter chill hours as average monthly winter temperatures rise, increased perennial weed pressure, and acidic soil conditions exacerbated by more frequent flooding.

SfL Pathways: ecosystem service markets, water management

Addressing SDGs: good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, life below water, life on land, climate action

Watch Adrienne’s Story