Learning To Market GENEVA, N.Y. Diversify ing apple orchards in the North east by increasing plantings of summer fruits such as peaches, plums, cherries, and nectarines was the focus of attention at the Second New York Stohe Fruit School March 13-14 in Geneva, N.Y. With the apple business doing so poorly and the outlook not too bright, apple growers are taking a new look at stone fruit,” said Jim Bittner, who farms 500 acres of fruit along Lake Ontario. “On most of these apple farms, stone fruits were a bigger part of the operation SO years ago than they are today.” No new apple plantings are planned in the near future at Singer Farms where Bittner is a partner. Current apple acreage is 200 acres. “It has gotten to the point where anyone can grow apples and prices show it,” said Bittner. “We need to grow things that others can’t or won’t. 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Bittner is planting many new summer fruit varieties in test blocks on the farm, hoping to capitalize on his proximity to urban markets, and convince consumers that summer fruit from local growers is riper when picked and tastes better than fruit shipped in from far away. “It takes work,” said Bittner. “Our problem is that New York consumers don’t know that we exist.” First among the many ques tions to be asked about growing stone fruit concerns marketing strategy. “When did you last attend a two-day meeting that had a full day devoted to mar keting?” asked Steve Clarke, Milton, N.Y., grower. Clarke, Bittner and the 80 other industry people, research ers and Cornell Cooperative Ex tension educators who attended the school talked first about marketing, followed by cultural topics: site selection, new varie ties, pest control, and high On All GEORGE V. SEIPEL & SON 1521 Van Buren Road Easton, PA DEER CREEK EQUIPMENT, INC 6600 Limestone Rd. Oxford, PA 720 Wheeler School Rd Whiteford, MD LONE MAPLE SALES & SERVICE RD 2 New Alexandria, PA SANDY LAKE IMPLEMENT CO., INC. RD 3, Sandy Lake, PA New York’s Summer Tree Fruits density orchard training systems. “The tone of the meeting was very upbeat,” said co-organizer Robert Andersen, Cornell Uni versity professor of horticultural sciences who directs the stone fruit breeding program at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. “In two days, we had over 22 presentations an expanded format from the first meeting two years ago. Growers had the opportunity to make business contacts with marketers and many creative ideas were ex changed.” Determine Your Markets Before You Plant Wen-Fei Uva, senior exten sion associate in horticultural product marketing in Cornell’s department of Agricultural Re source and Managerial Econom ics on the Ithaca campus, organized the marketing pro- Meyer Your Ttuck Box Live Bottom, Rear Unload Box Unloads In 30 Seconds Tandem Trailer Mount with Flare and Wagon Mount with Roof RONT and REAR UNLOAD Door opens and closes without assistance. Latch system locks and unlocks on its own. •Ist year parts and labor. • 2 year warranty on entire box. • 2nd year parts. • 5 years on main apron chain. • 5 years on the A 26 lower gear box (3500 & 4500). •10 years on the AllO lower gear box (4600). •10 years on the box structure. gram. It featured growers, bro kers, processors in Ontario and New York, and Cornell special ists. In her talk, Uva outlined stone fruit facts and industry trends in New York as well as per capita consumption trends for stone fruit crops in the USA. Michael Roznye from Red Tomato addressed grower opti mism about market proximity in the Northeast, and described what his company does to link farmers to wholesalers. Riper, better tasting fruit from New York orchards should gain market share in eastern chain stores, especially if growers combine quality assur ance standards with new varie ties having unique flavors and improved consumer popularity. The other buzz is “region, region, region.” The new North east Stone Fruit Sponsors indus try association expects to take a pro-active role in engendering regional cooperation rather than Unloads in 30 Seconds Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 27, 2000-A23 local competition among neigh bors. In the horticultural sessions organized by Andersen on Tues day, Stephen A. Hoying, CCE leader of the Lake Ontario Fruit Team, talked about getting orc hards off to a good start. “Summer fruit trees are not as tough as apple trees. For suc cessful stone fruit plantings, growers should plan several years in advance,” he said. Summer fruit growers must know the climatic characteris tics of their sites and pay special attention to susceptibility to spring frost and minimum winter temperatures. They must also investigate their soils thor oughly because wet soils have low oxygen levels. Modifications are necessary in most New York soils through tile draining and/or ridging and by choosing the appropriate rootstock for the site. The role of IPM was well covered by Peter Shearer from Rutgers University, one of four new faculty members hired to work on strength ening stone fruit production in southern Jersey. He showed that ground cover management is the key to controlling insects like thrips and tarnished plant bugs' that cause bad surface blemishes. In the case of damage caused by the larval stage of the Oriental fruit moth, Shearer presented considerable data about achieving bio logical control with sex pheromones. Rotating controls and using them at the lowest possible rates can inhibit pest tolerance to chemical con trols. Plum Pox Virus (PPV) was another hot topic. This new scare has surfaced for the first time in New York. Virus survey activities by the New York State Plum Pox Task Force were outlined by David Rosenberger, superintendent of the Hudson Valley Lab in Highland, N.Y. This task force includes the New York State Department of Ag and Markets (NYSDAM), Cornell faculty, CCE educators, growers and USD A regulators. Deputy Commissioner Rick Zimmerman represented NYSDAM at the school. Recently, all New York tree fruit growers received PPV in formation from NYSDAM Commissioner Rudgers that describes the disease and the New York survey activities for controlling it. 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