Your Virtual Pass To the IFTA 2025 Winter Orchard Tour

By Thomas Skernivitz|March 4, 2025

The 68th annual meeting of the International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) convened Feb. 17-19 in Rochester, NY. The middle day of the event featured a largely frigid day-long tour of four western New York tree fruit orchards. As is frequently the case during IFTA’s winter events in the East and Midwest, the themes of the day were high-density plantings … and layering. Scroll through the photo gallery below for some of what was seen and heard during the IFTA 2025 Winter Orchard Tour.

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Stop 1: Orchard Dale Fruit Farm

The annual IFTA winter orchard tour began around 9 a.m. at Orchard Dale Fruit Farm in Waterport, NY, about 5 miles south of Lake Ontario, between Buffalo and Rochester.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 1: Orchard Dale Fruit Farm

The 9 a.m. temperature in Waterport was 11° F, with winds ranging between 22 and 32 mph straight out of the West. The wind chill measured minus-11° F.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 1: Orchard Dale Fruit Farm

Orchard Dale owner Bobby Brown — American Fruit Grower's East Region Apple Grower of the Year in 2024 — addressed the IFTA contingent. His orchard is comprised of 400 acres of apple, including 'Honeycrisp', 'SweeTango', 'Gala', 'Fuji', and 'SnapDragon'.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 1: Orchard Dale Fruit Farm

Attendees prepare to head back to two of the four buses chartered by IFTA over two separate shifts. Totaled, each fleet visits the same four farms.

Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 2: Two of Clubs Orchard

Jill MacKenzie and Mark Russell, co-owners of Two of Clubs Orchard in Appleton, NY, hosted stop No. 2.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 2: Two of Clubs Orchard

The husband-wife team began managing the orchard in 2003, the year they married. At that time, Russell's family rented the farm, but today Jill and Mark own the business.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 2: Two of Clubs Orchard

The couple cut down the first free-standing trees in 2005, planted their first high-density block in 2008, and finished replanting in 2021. Varieties removed included 'Macintosh', 'Empire', 'Cortland', 'Red Delicious', 'Jonagold', and 'Crispin'. Meanwhile, they started topworking in 2018 and are still renewing while removing 'RubyFrost' and 'Ambrosia'.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 2: Two of Clubs Orchard

The crew at Two of Clubs consists of three seasonal domestic workers and up to 20 H-2A workers from Mexico. "We feel fortunate to have these hardworking and fun people in our lives," MacKenzie says. "We're also really lucky to be here in Appleton. We have the best growers as neighbors."
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 3: Newroyal Orchards

Continuing westward, to Gasport, NY, in Niagara County, attendees visited Newroyal Orchards, a four-generation family business that boasts 300 acres of apples, 40 acres of pears, and 18 acres of cherries.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 3: Newroyal Orchards

The visit revolved around Newroyal's sweet cherries (planted in 2011) and their canopy system (installed in 2014 by Voen Covering Systems).
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 4: Zingler Farms

Mike Zingler (left) and his son, Jimmy, along with IFTA Education Director Greg Lang, facilitated the final IFTA stop from Zingler Farms in Holley, NY.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz
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Stop 4: Zingler Farms

The family’s Holley orchard -- Zingler also has operations in Kendall and Hilton, NY -- was planted between 2018 and 2021 and consists of 'SweeTango', 'Honeycrisp', 'Rave', and 'WildTwist' varieties.
Photo by Thomas Skernivitz