Enrollment
The Cornell Cooperative Extension Lake Ontario Fruit team invites you to join our organization; you must be enrolled to benefit from the expertise of our Specialists. Enrollment in a partner county will provide an subscription to our email newsletter, Fruit Notes, and the option to enroll in Fruit Facts (the more time sensitive reminders for pest management and horticultural practices) and the Harvest Maturity subscription will provide you with apple ripening index measurements to help time harvest of apples by variety. We can also do farm visits to troubleshoot problems or evaluate situations. Please note due to rising costs the printed and mailed paper copy of Fruit Notes are only available at an additional fee. Email version Fruit Notes are still included in enrollment at no extra cost.
In 2025, our program will be supported, in part, by 5 county Cornell Cooperative Extensions: Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Oswego and Wayne Counties. If you have not been enrolled in our program before, and are farming or living in one of these counties, you can click on the county listed above and contact them to find out how to enroll. Renewals of current enrollees are different for each county, they range from January through the end of March.
However, we still welcome those that farm or conduct agricultural services in other counties outside of Niagara, Orleans, Oswego, Monroe and Wayne Counties to enroll in our program (Satellite Enrollment). The Satellite enrollment will also provide a subscription to our newsletter, Fruit Notes, and the option to enroll in Fruit Facts and the Harvest Maturity subscription. However, we must continue to respect the major supporting role of the partner counties who continue to support the cost of the program overall. Therefore, the growers who enroll through the Satellite program can only access specialists on the team for consultation by phone, fax, or email. Unfortunately, specialists will not be able to do on-farm visits or applied research out of the partner counties. But there is a lot we can do electronically through communication technology these days! If you would like to become a member of our program through our Satellite enrollment you can enroll by printing and mailing the Satellite PDF Enrollment form below, or simply enroll online with a credit card in the online form below.
Please note that if you have already enrolled in the Lake Ontario Fruit Program and would like to receive the Maturity Harvest Report but didn't included it in your annual enrollment, you can enroll to receive the Maturity Harvest Report at https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/ev....
For general enrollment questions or to learn more about the benefits or enrolling in the Lake Ontario Fruit Program? Contact Team Leader Craig Kahlke at 585-735-5448, or cjk37@cornell.edu.
Cornell Guidelines, as they are updated and made available for the season, can be purchased through the Cornell Store at at https://www.cornellstore.com/t...
Please note the email version of Fruit Notes is included in your enrollment. The quantity of Fruit Notes, on the form below, is only required for the number of printed and mailed copies you would like to purchase.
LOF Enrollment Form - Satellite (PDF; 404KB)
Satellite Regions Enrollment Form - Online
*In Region Enrollment is directly with your county
Apples
Apricots
Asian Pears
Blueberries
Cherries
Currants
Gooseberries
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Raspberries / Blackberries
Strawberries
Unusual Fruit
Upcoming Events
2025 Apple Social
July 17, 2025 : Wayne County - Apple Social
Williamson, NY
Please join us at this casual networking event for all apple industry folks from Western NY, proudly sponsored by Valent. There will be a brief introduction of the Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and from attending specialists.
July 24, 2025 : Orleans County - Apple Social
Lyndonville, NY
Please join us at this casual networking event for all apple industry folks from Western NY, proudly sponsored by Valent. There will be a brief introduction of the Lake Ontario Fruit Program, and from attending specialists.
2025 Cornell In-Depth Fruit School Recordings
April 8, 2025
July 31, 2025
: Recording Available for 2025 Cornell In-Depth Fruit School
Access to the 2025 Cornell In-Depth Fruit School recordings are now available for purchase.
3rd Annual Western NY Fruit Growers Tour, Featuring Wayne County
July 31, 2025
Registration open!
We are excited to announce the 3rd annual Western New York Fruit Grower Tour, the premier fruit tour of the northeast brought to you by Cornell Cooperative Extension's Lake Ontario Fruit Program and Lake Ontario Ag Consulting, LLC! Located in Wayne County, this orchard field day will highlight new and existing products, chemistries, practices, technologies & equipment that shape the orchard industry today. The Western NY Fruit Grower Tour will again combine two past orchard tour events, the LOF Summer Fruit Tour and the Wayne County Fruit Grower Tour, giving industry members the opportunity to conveniently showcase their product offerings to ONE unified group at ONE time and place!
* Schedule subject to change.