Roberta and Kim Barham
As Aronia enthusiasts, Kim and Roberta Barham began cultivating 1,000 aronia berry plants in 2009. In 2008, Roberta tasted a distinctly bold flavor in a fruit juice blend. Seeing the word “aronia” she identified it as the source of the zing of the otherwise unremarkable drink. Determined to learn more about Aronia, she began to discover resources and information solidifying her interest.
Aronia berries, also known as black chokeberries, are a small fruit with an extraordinary range of benefits. They top the nutritional charts with the highest antioxidant value of ANY fruit, but their nutritional contribution goes way beyond that.
These berries (which resemble blueberries) are a member of the apple family, Rosaceae. They are bursting with phytonutrients, tannins, and minerals—a powerhouse of antioxidants. Aronia berries have the best ability of any food to fight harmful free radicals in the body, far surpassing trendy “superfoods” like goji berries, pomegranates, and cranberries. Studies have shown aronia helps in reducing inflammation, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, etc. The berry is noted for fighting cold and flu causing viruses, aiding digestion, kidney and urinary tract health, nourishing the brain and nervous system, etc. Aronia contains Vitamins C, E, B2, B6, Folic Acid & Iron and has been shown to speed recovery after exercise. American Indians used aronia to treat ailments.
Health-conscious consumers are finding aronia in fresh and frozen form, often used in juices, jams, and wines. They also have much potential for use in baked items. While serving on the board of the Midwest Aronia Association (now American Aronia Berry Association), Roberta spearheaded the creation of an 80+ recipe book across broad categories and can be found on Amazon (“Aronia Berry Recipes”, purple cover).
Several Southwestern Wisconsin Aronia growers share resources to harvest, clean and distribute the fruit (maturity of late August to mid-September) either fresh, frozen or juice concentrate to local stores and farmer’s markets. More cooperation, collaboration and infrastructure is needed to compete with berries from Poland. Currently, “It’s cheaper to buy from Poland than it is to buy domestically,” said Kim Barham, referencing the subsidies that help Poland hold the title of largest producer. At least 80% of global aronia berry production comes from Poland, but the low-maintenance crop represents an environmental and economic opportunity for Wisconsin to champion our native species of superfood.
Like all perennials, aronia plants promote soil health. They come back year after year without requiring annual soil disturbance, aggressive fertilizers, or pesticides. They also provide important pollinator habitat at a critical time in the growing season, given the plant’s early flowering period.
The crop is grower-friendly, cold hardy, tolerant of most soil types, and naturally resistant to drought, insects, and disease. These factors could allow farmers of commodity crops to make productive use of marginal land by growing aronia berries. In addition to being a good companion crop for growers and backyard hobbyists, aronia could also be grown and marketed as a standalone nutraceutical crop because, being similar to blueberries, infrastructure for harvesting and processing already exists on a commercial scale.
So why aren’t more aronia growing operations popping up across Wisconsin? Unfortunately, the supply of aronia berries in the state is greater than the demand. “We have thousands of pounds of aronia berries sitting in freezers across Wisconsin,” said Kim Barham. Despite a growing group of dedicated admirers, most Wisconsinites are unfamiliar with the berry.
While the American Aronia Berry Association serves as an educational resource, it doesn’t have the same marketing resources as organizations like the Cranberry Marketing Committee. Wisconsin has several companies, connected to the cranberry industry, that can process aronia berries and create value-added products that may be more popular with consumers.
“This infrastructure is advantageous,” said Roberta Barham, “[but] I have found that growers need to reach out and advocate for themselves… It would be beneficial for groups to unite cooperatively towards increasing aronia awareness and developing commercial products.” By working together to harvest, clean, distribute and market aronia berries, growers in Wisconsin have increased retail locations and sales of value-added aronia products.
Barham Gardens has found success selling fresh berries at the Dane County and other farmer’s markets. They have also partnered with local grocery stores to sell fresh berries. Other farmers, like those at Bellbrook Berry Farm, have capitalized on the slowly growing market demand by offering frozen aronia berries and concentrated aronia juice. Roberta is confident that with increased awareness and acceptance of this little-known fruit, more products will be requested, developed, and made commercially available. Wisconsin is positioned to be in the forefront of this movement!
Roberta and Kim Barham manage a small homestead farm, Barham Gardens, specializing in Super Aronia berries. Putting 1,000 plants in the ground in 2009 they harvested their first berries in 2012. Since that time, successful harvests are sold at farmer’s markets, Madison grocery stores and on farm. The Roberta quite often counsels those interested in growing, harvesting and producing aronia product.