04/20/2026
Heidi Slinkman manages Gaynor Cranberry Company west of Wisconsin Rapids. She also co-founded Cranberry Learning, Inc., to educate students about cranberries and cranberry career pathways. She tells Brownfield, “We recognize that there’s plenty of talent and opportunity no matter where you live and no matter what language you speak, that you have the opportunity to be a cranberry farmer, a cranberry food scientist, a truck driver, a soil specialist, or a researcher, for example.
Many farms employ Spanish-speaking workers, but Slinkman says there is a need to translate cranberry learning materials into French because of the similar cranberry workforce shortages in Quebec, Canada. “That access to bilingual proficiency, there’s a gap there, so we understand that if we want to be able to connect with growers and workforce, ag force, we need to be able to meet them where they are, including their language.”
Slinkman says the Cranberry Learning tools help teach math, English, art, physics, and science with cranberry farming examples.
Heidi Slinkman discusses Cranberry Learning Inc. and the efforts to expose people to possible careers in cranberry farming with Brownfield’s Larry Lee.
https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/cranberry-grower-uses-fruit-to-recruit/mpme
A Wisconsin cranberry grower is addressing the farm labor shortage by using the fruit to teach about farming. Heidi Slinkman manages the Gaynor Cranberry Company west of Wisconsin Rapids. She also co-founded Cranberry Learning, Inc., to educate students about cranberries and cranberry career pathway...
