WI Cranberry Harvest - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

MADISON (WKOW) -- It seems that Wisconsin's cranberry industry is going to continue to do well. A new report says our cranberry crop had an especially productive year last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Wisconsin produced 4.4 million barrels of cranberries in 2011. That's an increase of 11 percent over the 2010 harvest.

Wisconsin's 2011 season got off to a late start because of bad weather, but a mid-season heat wave helped production recover. Some producers said their berries were smaller last year but their overall output was good to average.

Wisconsin remains the nation's leading cranberry producer. The state harvests more barrels than the rest of the country does combined. Wisconsin accounted for 57 percent of last year's national output, while Massachusetts produced 30 percent. New Jersey, Oregon and Washington state accounted for the other 13 percent.

One barrel of cranberries equates to 100 pounds.