Harvesting the Ice for the Coolers for the Summer Season

Work doesn't just stop because the growing season is over.  The St. Croix Valley Growers cut and store ice during these winter months to ecologically and economically cool their produce during the summer months.  The coolers stay between 40-50 degrees even during the heat of the summer.  Wagons move in and out of the central storage facility every 10 or 15 minutes as the ice is harvested and then hauled from the ponds by several teams of draft horses, where the ice is emptied into the coolers.