Growers and processors of Wisconsin's largest fruit crop hope a new bipartisan congressional panel fosters discussion and collaboration within the industry.

The Congressional Cranberry Caucus, which held its inaugural meeting last week in Washington, D.C., will serve as a platform for addressing issues and concerns within the industry and will educate members of Congress about cranberry production, processing and marketing, organizers said.

"We think it's a great venue to reach out to members of Congress ... to talk about issues that are important to the industry," said Tom Lochner, executive director for the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association.

Lochner was one of four industry representatives who attended the group's formal kick-off event Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Others included representatives of Ocean Spray Cranberries, the Cape Cod State Cranberry Growers Association and the Cranberry Institute.

U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Appleton, will co-chair the panel, along with fellow Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., and Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown, also of Massachusetts. It consists of more than a dozen members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation and their counterparts in Massachusetts and Washington state, including Reps. Sean Duffy, R-Weston, Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, and Tom Petri, R-Fond du Lac, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh.

With the Wood County town of Cranmoor being the highest-producing area in a state that grows more than 50 percent of the nation's cranberry supply, the industry is vital to the central Wisconsin economy, Wood County Board Chairman Lance Pliml said.

"Cranberries have become probably the most notable agricultural product in the state, and it certainly has been a huge growth industry for our area," Pliml said.

Attracting the attention of and garnering support from more federal lawmakers, increases not only the opportunities for local growers to get their products out to growing overseas markets but also the number of tourists who visit central Wisconsin to see the fall harvests, he said.

In addition to the economic aspects, industry leaders also highlighted the health benefits of the tart fruit at Wednesday's event and addressed concerns about added sugar in their products.

Randy Papadellis, president and CEO of Ocean Spray, commended lawmakers' "efforts to create policies that will help Americans consume fewer non-nutritive beverages and snack foods" but cautioned them on going too far.

"It's important to make the distinction between nutrient-dense cranberry products that have more naturally occurring antioxidants per gram than any other fruit and others that offer empty calories," Papadellis said in a news release. "Cranberry is an exception in the realm of sugar sweetened beverages and added sugar."

Lawmakers signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging the agency to include cranberry juice and dried cranberry products in its food and nutrition programs.

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