By Tim W. Shenk
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.