Lagoner Farms
Jake Lagoner
Williamson, NY
The Farm
For over 100 years, the Lagoner family has been farming in Williamson, NY, not far from the shores of Lake Ontario. The lake cools the summer breezes and softens winter’s harshness to create ideal growing conditions for apples and other fruits. The Lagoners have created a thriving family farm in that welcoming climate. Now covering 150 acres, the farm has been nurtured by five generations of Lagoners, with Jake now farming the same land his great-great grandparents, Anthony and Jennie, purchased in 1909.
Crops Grown
variety of vegetables and fruit, including apples, berries, peaches, plums, apricots, pears, strawberries, cherries, peas, asparagus, rhubarb, cucumbers, pickles, radish, spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, peppers, tomatoes, beets, beans, pumpkins, eggplant, squash. Pies and jams made from farm’s fruit.
Growing Practices
According to Jake, “Lagoner Farms is transitioning to organic vegetable and blueberry production. We will be following the USDA standards for organic certification. We are also taking the NOFA NY farmers pledge. For weed control, we use mulches, crop rotation, cover crops, mechanical and manual cultivation. We use drip irrigation. For insect/disease control, we start from the soil up by building our soil health by additing compost and cover crops. We also use a combination of beneficial insects and OMRI certified materials if needed. For the orchard acareage that is not going through the organic certification process at ths time, we practice IPM (Integrated Pest Management), low spray programs. Crop rotation and cover crops are used to build soil. We are officially recognized as a century farm by New York State! 5 generations.”
