The 2012 USDA Census revealed that the 16 counties comprising the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture program had over 12,500 acres devoted to apple production. The lower Hudson Valley region and the Lake Champlain region are two of the largest and most important apple production areas in New York state which ranks second in the nation for apple production and first in the country for canned apple products, although much of that crop is produced in western NY.

Apples are thought to have originated between the Caspian and the Black Seas and proof of humans’ enjoyment of apples traces back at least 750,000 years. Early settlers brought apple seeds with them to the United States. Records indicate that apples were grown in New England as early as 1630. John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, along with many other traders, missionaries and Native Americans, were responsible for extensive apple tree plantings in the Midwest and beyond.

Apples are one of the most valuable fruit crops in the United States. The 9.0 billion pound U.S. 2012 apple crop was valued at nearly $3.1 billion. Apples are the second most consumed fruit (fresh and processed uses combined), following oranges. The average person consumes 44 pounds of apple products annually.

Over the last 20 years, Cornell research and extension projects have helped growers increase yields and fruit quality by increasing tree densities and improving labor efficiency. We estimate that profitability of new high density orchards is 100 to 300% greater than the traditional low-density orchards.

In 2013, Cornell University announced the introduction of two new apple varieties, SnapDragon and RubyFrost, developed through a managed release partnership with the New York Apple Growers (NYAG). The income generated through this partnership is used to market the new varieties and support Cornell’s apple-breeding program.

For more information about tree fruit production, please visit the Cornell Tree Fruit website at http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/tree_fruit/index.htm.


More Apples Content

Pumpkin Variety Trial Meeting (Northern Location)

October 24, 2018
1:00pm- 3:00pm
Melrose, NY

Join Chuck Bornt and Teresa Rusinek from CCE ENYCHP for our 2018 pumpkin variety trial results. We trialed 48 different pumpkin varieties of various shapes and sizes, from different companies. Come on out and see how they look!

Pumpkin Variety Trial Meeting (Southern Location)

October 25, 2018
1:00pm- 3:00pm
Kingston, NY

Join Chuck Bornt and Teresa Rusinek from CCE ENYCHP for our 2018 pumpkin variety trial results. We trialed 48 different pumpkin varieties of various shapes and sizes, from different companies. Come on out and see how they look!

Grow a Successful Agritourism Business! Managing Your Human Resource Risk From Agritourism

October 26, 2018
10:00am - 2:30pm
Highland, NY

Bringing visitors to your farm can create new income streams but agritourism can also be a source of risk to your farm business. Five lunchtime seminars will teach how to assess and manage different risks to help develop a successful agritourism business. The seminars will be followed by a panel of successful agritourism operators. In-between each seminar, participants will build on their knowledge to develop their own risk management plan. This 5-county program will be offered simultaneously in Delaware (the host county), and by Zoom technology in Otsego/Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster Counties. The Ulster County site, hosted by Liz Higgins of the Eastern NY Commercial Hort Team, will be at the Hudson Valley Lab

Check out the Updated Labeled Insecticides for SWD

Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide Compiled by Greg Loeb, Laura McDermott, Peter Jentsch & Juliet Carroll, Cornell University. Updated regularly. Check it out at this link!

New Resources from CCE ENYCHP!

We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year! We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the 20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series. 
The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.

Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.

Text alerts are easy to access. Just click on the link below and fill out a very short registration form. It takes just seconds to do - access to important information has never been so easy!!

Confused by the WPS (Worker Protection Standard)?

Please take note: WPS pertains to all farms-organic and conventional!  To be sure that you are complying with these regulations, please view the EPA link below:
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/comparison-chart-wps.pdf