(Bloomberg) — With cranberry prices at the lowest in a halfcentury, Nodji Van Wychen has been forced to cut back onfertilizer, staff and pollinating bees just to keep her farm goingnear Pittsville, Wisconsin. Other cranberry growers are finding iteasier to sell the farm to John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and itsever-expanding agriculture group.

"We pretty much cut everything in half," the third- generationfarmer said from her home at the family’s 110-acre marsh northwestof Milwaukee. It’s the worst environment she’s seen since 1959 whenfarmers dumped their entire crop amid a health scare. Van Wychendoesn’t want to sell the operation, but admits the future ofcranberries may not include family growers. "There are many smallerfarmers that are finding that they literally cannot make it," shesaid.

As cranberry season reaches its zenith over the Christmasholiday, farmers are increasingly selling family-owned cranberrybogs — the large tracts of wetland where the bobbing red fruit grow— to larger operators. One buyer name that reigns in these parts isJohn Hancock, whose agricultural investment group is activelylooking for distressed cranberry operations to add to its $2.5billion in assets.