Cornerstone Orchards

In this life, some things are worth saving.  That is exactly the situation Caitlin and Bryan LoVullo found themselves in the summer of 2018.  A 100-acre farm that had spanned five generations in Youngstown New York was on the precipice of being split into sections and sold as parcels through an auction process.  There was a very real danger that over 10,000 mature fruiting trees could be clear cut to make room for soy and corn growers.  At the eleventh hour the farm was purchased in its original form, and two young adults with no professional farming experience were going to begin their lifelong project.  

Cornerstone Orchards was established in 2019.  The new farmers were fortunate to acquire a wide variety of mature fruiting trees, a working staff of ten people, and personal contacts throughout Western New York interested in continuing to buy fruit grown on the farm in Youngstown, New York.  The farm had a strong conventional foundation, rooted in Integrated Pest Management.  The vision of the new ownership was to further transition into a more progressive way of biodynamic and earth-based farming. 

 In Youngstown, the farm is located on fertile soil that is the remnant of an ancient lake (Lake Iroquois).  Today located less than a mile from the shoreline of Lake Ontario provides stability to the ever-changing climate that we are experiencing.  The Cool spring lake helps to delay spring blooms until after dangerous frosts have passed, and in the fall the warm lake water can help extend the growing season when inland locations experience freeze.

The mission of Cornerstone Orchards has always remained the same.  To produce healthy and abundant food for our local community, while also being responsible stewards of our farmland and planet.  Nature can bring adverse weather and foreign pests which are adept in decimating crop production, but nature can also provide the tools of creating balance for sustainable crop production.  The solution lays in breaking down everything into parts and starting to make changes where applicable.  Small changes such as delayed mowing and no-till have already proven to increase insect populations.  Limiting our chemical exposure by eliminating herbicides and spray thinning, while reducing insecticides and fungicides have gone a long way to promoting a healthy farm ecosystem.  Having pollinators living on the farm is crucial for both flower pollination, but also for consuming many of the pests responsible for wreaking havoc.  Specifically, creating habitat for diverse insect populations has shown early signs of success in the case of pear psylla.  Where once the pear orchard was subject to a sticky black mess of honeydew, the orchard has now become as clean as the fruit itself. 

 Creating strong ecosystems through earth-based farming has shown to be pivotable for the farmland itself, but also for producing abundant, consistent, and clean food that benefits our local communities.