Lake Ontario Fruit Program Enrollment

Program Areas

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

Enrollment Benefits

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

Enrollee Login

Password:

Log In To Access:

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

Local Fruit Industry Employment Opportunities

January 12, 2023

If you are in the Lake Ontario Fruit Region and looking for employment or trying to source employees, the Lake Ontario Fruit Program is providing this space to help the fruit industry. Looking for employment in the Lake Ontario Fruit Region looking then be sure to check out the hiring opportunities linked below.  If you are an employer trying to find employees contact Craig Kahlke with a request and links to the available jobs and application.  

2023 Employment Opportunities:

HH Dobbins & Son looking for Niagara/Orleans County Farm Team Members:

Farm Team Members Needed:

Do you believe that you were meant to be a farmer?

Do you believe that working outdoors no matter what the weather is doing is better than a day sitting behind a desk, on the road driving all day, or in a factory setting?

If so, we might want to meet you.

We are always looking for positive, productive team members to help us operate our fruit farms. Everyday we wake up to face the challenges of growing the highest quality apples in our region. We are a growing farm, under new management, currently running about 160 acres of orchard with locations in Lyndonville, Knowlesville, and Lockport. We get to operate equipment and work outside all year round, sometimes even in bad weather. We enjoy watching our orchards evolve throughout the growing season and taking care of them along the way. But we can't do it without more help - we are currently overworked and not getting all necessary jobs completed in a timely manner - we need help so that we can be as efficient and effective as possible.

Since we have three locations, you'll need to be a good communicator. At times you may need to self-direct while you're working independently at one of the farms. Other times you'll need to contribute as a team member as you may be working with as many as 40 people. When our staff is all working together in a large group setting you may be asked to take on supervisory responsibilities.

We are continuously investing in new equipment and technology. However, we still have plenty of old tired equipment. You'll need to be able to critically think and problem solve as breakdowns do happen and, therefore, plans can change. You'll also need to be proactive about equipment care and maintenance to reduce breakdowns.

In the spring and early summer we spray a lot which means you'll need to be ok with safely handling pesticides. Some of these materials are heavy so you should be able to lift at least 50 lbs. Willingness and ability to obtain a NYS pesticide applicator license would be greatly appreciated.

In a nutshell - we need help continuously improving and operating our farms. We can't do this without adding really good people to our team. People that love farming as much as we do. We happen to farm apples, but we'd like to talk to you if you have any relevant farming experience and interest. We are open and flexible to different schedules - full time, part time, and/or seasonal help.

Can you help?

If you're interested you please contact us - tell us a little about yourself in a resume, email, or an application and we can set up a time to meet you.

Job Listings - https://www.wnyjobs.com/jobpostings/farm-team-members-lyndonville-ny-281036/

Applications - https://unitedapplesales.com/e...





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

2024 Tree Fruit & Small Fruit Twilight Meetings

Event Offers DEC Credits

April 25, 2024 : Tree Fruit & Small Fruit Twilight Meetings 1 of 4
Newark, NY

Join specialists Janet Van Zoeren, Anya Osatuke, and Anna Wallis for a conversation about fruit and berry phenology and pest management, at a new location each month.


Event Offers DEC Credits

May 30, 2024 : Tree Fruit & Small Fruit Twilight Meetings 2 of 4
Lockport, NY

Join specialists Janet Van Zoeren, Anya Osatuke, and Anna Wallis for a conversation about fruit and berry phenology and pest management, at a new location each month.


Event Offers DEC Credits

June 27, 2024 : Tree Fruit & Small Fruit Twilight Meetings 3 of 4
Penn Yan, NY

Join specialists Janet Van Zoeren, Anya Osatuke, and Anna Wallis for a conversation about fruit and berry phenology and pest management, at a new location each month.


Event Offers DEC Credits

July 25, 2024 : Tree Fruit & Small Fruit Twilight Meetings 4 of 4
Mexico, NY

Join specialists Janet Van Zoeren, Anya Osatuke, and Anna Wallis for a conversation about fruit and berry phenology and pest management, at a new location each month.

View 2024 Tree Fruit & Small Fruit Twilight Meetings Details

2nd Annual WNY Fruit Grower Tour

August 13, 2024

We are excited to announce the second 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 Orleans 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!

View 2nd Annual WNY Fruit Grower Tour Details

Save the Date - Western NY Fruit Conference - February 4-5, 2025

Event Offers DEC Credits

February 4 - February 5, 2025 : Western NY Fruit Conference
Rochester, NY

For the 2nd year in a row, we'll be having the Western NY Fruit Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Rochester!  It will be another 1 1/2 day conference. Stay tuned for program and registration info as we get closer.

View Save the Date - Western NY Fruit Conference - February 4-5, 2025 Details

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:

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

17 Apr - Final Special Permit Training - 1pm-5pm - Irondequoit Library, Register by 8am April 16th

22 Apr - Statewide Virtual Pink Meeting - 3pm-4:30pm - Zoom

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

Feb 4-5, 2025 - Western NY Fruit Conference - DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Rochester



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 Statewide Pink Meeting

2024 Cornell Statewide Frost Protection Webinar

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

2nd Annual Lake Ontario Fruit Program's Winter Fruit Conference - 2024 pdfs

PACMAN Details and Resources, Meeting Recording Links below:
Developers Conference for Precision Crop Load Management of Apples Playlist - 2024
PACMAN Briefing - 2023








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
https://lof.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=838&crumb=crops|crops|apples|crop*38



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.

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