Lake Ontario Fruit Program Enrollment

Program Areas

  • Food Safety
  • Variety Evaluation
  • Market Development
  • Pest Management
  • Cultural Practices

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  • Telephone / Email Consultations
  • Fruit Newsletter?
  • Direct Mailings
  • Educational Meetings & Conferences
  • In-Field Educational Opportunities
  • On-Farm Research Trials

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  • Issues of Fruit Newletters
  • Helpful Diagnostic Tool:
      What's wrong with my crop?

How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? Zoom Series

The Zoom Series and Hands-on Skills Class is being instructed by Elizabeth Higgins, Extension Specialist, Ag Business Management and Production Economics with the CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program. Liz has over 15 years of expertise in these subject areas, working closely with the commercial fruit and vegetable industries in the eastern part of the state.

In the long run, it is only worthwhile to grow and sell a product if the price customers are willing to pay for the product exceeds all costs incurred to produce and sell it while earning a reasonable return on your invested capital (financial and human).

The purpose of each class is to give you some of the tools you need, as an orchard owner, to assess whether an investment or long-term change in your orchard business makes sense and to help you choose among potential options.  Although this class will used orchard businesses as the framework, most of the concepts I will cover are applicable to any business situation.

The focus on this series is decision making and by extension risk reduction.  I say risk reduction because a good decision does not necessarily mean a good outcome.  Bad luck or unanticipated issues can result in bad outcomes even when good decisions were made.  But the best protection you have against a bad outcome is a well-informed good decision. Our goal is to help you make good, informed decisions with the data you have available. 

All webinars are free.  They will each be around an hour long and cover a specific topic.  They will be recorded so that if you miss a program you can view it later.  You must register to attend the webinars. 

WEBINAR SCHEDULE

December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm

Your farm's big-3 financial records (balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flow) and how to use them to assess your overall financial situation. This information will help you assess what types of investments are likely to be viable for your farm business and whether or not you are likely to be able to use credit to finance that investment.  We will specifically cover Farm Profitability, Cash Flow, and Key Financial Ratios.  

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

How do you create value?  How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?  In other words - what is your farm's business strategy?  Your investments should be in line with your strategy.  Different business strategies will result in investments in different parts of the Farm Business Value Chain.  Farm Business Value Chain - full range of activities needed to create a product or service.

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

Identifying the Enterprises in Your Value Chain.  Your Profit Centers and Cost Centers.  We will cover: Direct vs Indirect Costs and Cost Allocation and Variable vs Fixed Costs and Relevant Range (when does a fixed cost become a variable cost?)

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

Operating budgets are the overall financial plan for the business.  You can use a budget based on your current situation as the base to model new scenarios.

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

It is more time-consuming to develop detailed budgets for your enterprises, but it is worthwhile to do this for areas where you are considering making major investments.  We will demonstrate how to move from an operating budget to an enterprise budget to model specific scenarios within that enterprise. 

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

Introduces a structured process for a manager to go through to decide among options for long-term investments, projects or changes to the farm business.

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

As you change your prices, volume of sales or costs of production how does your profit change?  What is your break-even point and what output level do you need to achieve a target income? We will also cover sensitivity analysis that will help you see how your results will vary over a range of likely scenarios from best case to worst case.  This will help you assess the riskiness of your plan.

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Capital budgeting is defined as the process used to determine whether capital assets are worth investing in. it's the process of asking: is an asset worth the resources it requires?  Capital assets are usually long-term investments like new equipment, facilities, and other infrastructure upgrades. By incorporating strategically planned capital budgeting into their financial processes, companies can more effectively determine and prioritize which projects, programs and other investment assets could be most financially beneficial in the long-term.






Event Details

Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm

Date

December 5, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Online, Registration Required for this Free Webinar Series

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm



Your farm's big-3 financial records (balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flow) and how to use them to assess your overall financial situation. This information will help you assess what types of investments are likely to be viable for your farm business and whether or not you are likely to be able to use credit to finance that investment.  We will specifically cover Farm Profitability, Cash Flow, and Key Financial Ratios.


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

Date

December 6, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain



How do you create value?  How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?  In other words - what is your farm's business strategy?  Your investments should be in line with your strategy.  Different business strategies will result in investments in different parts of the Farm Business Value Chain.  Farm Business Value Chain - full range of activities needed to create a product or service.


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

Date

December 7, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions



Identifying the Enterprises in Your Value Chain.  Your Profit Centers and Cost Centers.  We will cover: Direct vs Indirect Costs and Cost Allocation and Variable vs Fixed Costs and Relevant Range (when does a fixed cost become a variable cost?)


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

Date

December 8, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning



Operating budgets are the overall financial plan for the business.  You can use a budget based on your current situation as the base to model new scenarios.


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

Enterprise Budgets

Date

December 12, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Enterprise Budgets



It is more time-consuming to develop detailed budgets for your enterprises, but it is worthwhile to do this for areas where you are considering making major investments.  We will demonstrate how to move from an operating budget to an enterprise budget to model specific scenarios within that enterprise. 


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

Date

December 13, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments



Introduces a structured process for a manager to go through to decide among options for long-term investments, projects or changes to the farm business.December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    


December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis

Date

December 14, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis



As you change your prices, volume of sales or costs of production how does your profit change?  What is your break-even point and what output level do you need to achieve a target income? We will also cover sensitivity analysis that will help you see how your results will vary over a range of likely scenarios from best case to worst case.  This will help you assess the riskiness of your plan.


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class





Event Details

Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Date

December 15, 2022

Time

12:30 - 1:30pm

Location

Webinar

Host

CCE-Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program
enych.cce.cornell.edu/


Event Registration


Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period



Capital budgeting is defined as the process used to determine whether capital assets are worth investing in. it's the process of asking: is an asset worth the resources it requires?  Capital assets are usually long-term investments like new equipment, facilities, and other infrastructure upgrades. By incorporating strategically planned capital budgeting into their financial processes, companies can more effectively determine and prioritize which projects, programs and other investment assets could be most financially beneficial in the long-term.


December 5 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 1 - Looking at the Big Financial Picture for Your Farm    

December 6 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 2 - Business Strategy and the Farm Business Value Chain

December 7 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 3 - Using Your Farm's Financial Data to Make Management Decisions

December 8 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 4 - Operating Budgets and Strategic Planning

December 12 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 5 - Enterprise Budgets

December 13 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 6 - 5 Step Decision-making Process for Capital Projects and Long-term Investments

December 14 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 7 - Cost Volume Profit Analysis and Sensitivity Analysis. 

December 15 (12:30-1:30) Webinar 8 - Capital Budgeting Tools - Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback Period

Register for How Profitable Will My New Orchard Investment Be? 1-day, hands-on skills class



more crops
Apples

Apples

Apricots

Apricots

Asian Pears

Asian Pears

Blueberries

Blueberries

Cherries

Cherries

Currants

Currants

Gooseberries

Gooseberries

Nectarines

Nectarines

Peaches

Peaches

Pears

Pears

Plums

Plums

Raspberries / Blackberries

Raspberries / Blackberries

Strawberries

Strawberries

Unusual Fruit

Unusual Fruit

more crops

Upcoming Events

Outfield Demo at Cornell AgriTech

March 28, 2024
Geneva, NY

Join Outfield's founders Jim and Oli as they demonstrate the system and share the experience of growers using Outfield last year to make more high value fruit, reduce costs, and improve sales with accurate advanced yield forecasts. 

2024 Respirator Fit Testing Clinic

April 3, 2024 : Orleans CCE Fit Testing - afternoon
Albion, NY

The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County are pleased to provide respirator fit testing clinics for agricultural businesses in your region on April 3rd.


April 4, 2024 : Orleans CCE Fit Testing - morning
Albion, NY

The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orleans County are pleased to provide respirator fit testing clinics for agricultural businesses in your region on April 4th.

2024 DEC Special Permit Handler Training - Wayne County

April 9, 2024
Newark, NY

Special Permit Training (SPT) for 2024 will be held in person at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office.

Announcements

Scaffolds podcast

Many of you probably read Art Agnello's statewide tree fruit updates and recommendations newsletter, "Scaffolds". Dr. Monique Rivera is bringing it back, but in a new audio version. Episode one was recorded this week, and is now available for free online at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scaffolds


Save the Date! - Scroll down for Upcoming Events

Have you missed a meeting recently? Scroll down for available recordings or pdf links or visits our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/LakeOntarioFruitProgram

2024 Events:

28 Mar - Outfield Demo at Cornell AgriTech - 1 - 3:30pm, Cornell AgriTech

3 Apr - 2024 Respirator Fit Testing - 1-5pm, CCE Orleans, Schedule Today

4 Apr - 2024 Respirator Fit Testing - 8am - 12pm, CCE Orleans, Schedule Today


10 Apr - DEC Special Permit Handler Training - CCE Orleans 


15 Apr - Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training - 2-4pm - Zoom

13 Aug - 2nd Annual WNY Fruit Grower Tour - Orleans County



Food Safety Virtual Office Hours

Cornell Institute of Food Safety "Virtual Office Hours", Tuesdays Noon to 1pm https://cals.cornell.edu/institute-for-food-safety/resources/virtual-office-hours

Past recorded virtual office hours can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJs5b7KUuvfcquH3ZtQHo5dSmF2m5MdQ


Webinar Recordings & Additional Meeting Materials

Check out the recordings of some recent webinars and/or conference materials from in person events: Recordings and Playlists are available at https://www.youtube.com/c/LakeOntarioFruitProgram

2024 Winter Fruit Webinars playlist on the NYS IPM Program YouTube Channel


PACMAN Details and Resources, Meeting Recording Links below:




Pollinator Resouces

Now available Pollinator Resource Links


Meeting Recordings Now Available

Did you miss the recent meeting?  Check and see if we recorded it and added it to our website or Lake Ontario Fruit Program YouTube Channel.

Honeycrisp Meetup recordings available here.

Why are my trees growing so poorly? recording available here.

Additional Recorded Webinars listing with recording and resource link are available at



New Publication on Growing Pawpaws

Are you a fan of pawpaws? These custardy fruits can be hard to come across, so this guide provides information on how to grow your own pawpaw from seed, and how to care for grafted seedlings. Pdf on growing now available.​ https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=799&crumb=crops|crops|unusual_fruit|crop*50

New Weed Management Technology Survey

Want to move away from herbicide reliance? Are you using novel technologies to manage weeds? We want to know about it to inform our weed science research. A team of weed scientists from University of California Davis, Oregon State University, and Cornell University are asking berry, tree fruit, tree nut, and vine crop growers to take 5 to 10 minutes and answer this short and anonymous survey. Weed Technology Survey link: https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bEpfAijoP7puQDP

For more information on this survey please visit http://blogs.cornell.edu/swd1/2020/12/02/new-weed-management-technology/


Pollinator Webinar Series - Summer 2020

The Pollinator Webinar Series presented by Penn State cover bee health and pollination services.



Bloom Pesticides for Pollinator Health

A reference table created by Janet van Zoeren and Anna Wallis, is now available at https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=711&crumb=pests|pests.