Cranberry farming in a multi-million dollar industry in Wisconsin. Many farmers believe Wisconsin is the perfect place to grow the crop.

NBC 15's Tim Elliott took a tour of a cranberry marsh to see how the tiny fruit is harvested.

“The history of cranberries goes back before Wisconsin was a state,” said Tom Lochner of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association.

Cranberries are big business in Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries in the world. We produce about 60 percent of the nation's crop out of Wisconsin,” added Lochner.

It's a $300 million a year industry, employing about 3,400 wisconsin residents.

“We are a big part of the state and we are very localized here in central Wisconsin,”

Tim put on the waders and got in the water to see how this tiny red fruit gets from the marsh to your mouth.

We are in Wisconsin Rapids at the Elm Lake Cranberry Company.

“Currently we are 150 acres of cranberries,” said farmer Mike Moss.

Cranberries are a perennial fruit planted in the spring. After three to five years of meticulous care, a full crop will emerge that will produce year after year.

“These will become Craisins. They are all processed then Ocean Spray cleans them, washes them, and then puts them in the freezer,” said Moss.

“It feels like there is a current right here,” commented Tim.

“Yeah you can see the slow movement going around, yeah,”

The red ones are tasty.

“The red ones are good!” exclaimed Tim.

But the white ones taste tart.

“Pick a red one, red is better. Try a white one, too. You won't do it more than once,” said Moss.

And they're good for you!

“Cranberries have a lot of antioxidants. Antioxidants are naturally occurring in the plant and prevent things like heart disease and those type of things,” said Lochner.

Today, collecting the cranberries is all done with machines.

“Right now, we do double the crop with about half the labor,”

Cranberries may be small, but they have a huge impact on our economy and health. And remember, they taste pretty good too.

The cranberry is the official Wisconsin state fruit. There are about 250 cranberry farmers who work on about 21,000 acres.