WNY Farm Field Day Highlights Apple Production, Soil Health, Leadership

Sergio Rosario and Silvia Rios, co-owners of Rosario Brothers LLC, welcomed nearly 30 participants to an educational field day at their apple orchard in Albion, in western New York State.

The field day, conducted in Spanish, began with a farm tour where Rosario explained his strategies and practices for apple production, including pruning, the use of reflective tarps, and grafting.

The field toured as part of the field day has been owned by Rosario Brothers Farm for about three years. During this time, many many significant improvements have been made to the quality and productivity of the orchard. Rosario’s goal is to produce “extra fancy” quality apples that have a higher value in the fresh apple market than apples for processing, which was the goal of the previous owner.

After the tour, participants learned about the importance of soil in agriculture. María José Oviedo from the Cornell Small Farms Program’s Futuro in Ag team presented on the importance of soil health and demonstrated different physical properties such as soil aggregate stability and soil water filtration, showing the importance of soil health in the movement, filtration and storage of water and nutrients.

Mildred Alvarado, coordinator of Futuro, then led the group in a discussion and exercises on the importance and management of personal and business finances as a key factor in building sustainable enterprises.

Hormis Bedolla, an employee in the apple industry for more than 20 years and supervisor of work crews, presented keys to developing leadership skills.

Rosario and Rios finished out the day by awarding certificates of recognition and appreciation to high-achieving members of their team who make it possible for Rosario Brothers Farm to contribute to the local and regional economy with their hard work and love for the production of high-quality apples.

The participants at the farm field day appreciated the openness of the owners for creating a space to share their knowledge acquired over many years of experience. During the event there was an atmosphere of trust and an invitation for each of the participants to begin their path to becoming successful entrepreneurs.