Growing Practices at Frecon Farms

We’re frequently asked how we grow our fruit, if we spray and if our fruit is organic. Well, since you asked...

Frecon Farms uses a program known as Integrated Pest Management. We also use common sense. Bottom line, the fruit we grow is safe, tastes great and our farm and soil is in good health. Yes, we spray. Only as much as we have to, and because growing fruit in the mighty Mid Atlantic region is one of the most difficult climates for fruit production on the planet.

Think about every pest, fungus, disease, mold, mildew you know and what does it require to grow? Warm, wet, humid conditions. Now think about August in Pennsylvania.

No we’re not organic. And we don’t plan to be. However we care for and respect the environment every single day our our lives. It’s our livelihood and has been for over 65 years. Growing fruit in Pennsylvania requires a delicate balance of care and control to battle pests of all shapes, sizes and species while promoting environmental well-being along the way. The plan with which we’re armed goes by the name of Integrated Pest Management- a comprehensive approach, combining both biological and synthetic farming practices. Like we said, common sense.

Integrated Pest Management was established by the EPA to “apply effective, environmentally sensitive growing practices” across the agricultural spectrum. With this come a variety of pest control methods; minimal sprays, covercrops, wildlife buffers, mating disruption, pesticide alternatives, etc., to ensure the safety of our trees, fruit and the consumers that purchase it. Organic, no. However organic growers apply many of the same concepts as IPM

We promote predatory insect population throughout our orchard by using cover crops and other habitat to keep the good guys in and the bad guys out. Also avoiding the use of chemicals where other growers do not. We use mating disruption and pheromone traps to limit the ability of pests to reproduce, avoiding further population growth and the use of additional pesticides. We battle bird damage not by killing them chemically or otherwise, but by placing speakers, distress calls and tin pans in our trees to scare them off. When we do spray, it’s bare minimum and just enough to get the job done. We’re always trimming and pruning to avoid spreading disease and pest population, instead of nuking an infected area. Our fruit is washed and hand packed by real people of the Boyertown community.

Frecon Farms is committed to a future of high quality, safe fruit, trees and the land on which it grows. We’re doing everything we can to ensure both its and your well being every step of the way. Since 1944.

But we are in business, just like everyone else and not only are there costs to sprays, fertilizers and pest controls, but also damaged equipment and injured personnel. Just as a fungal infection and wipe out an entire crop, a groundhog hole can roll a tractor and injure a worker- all resulting economic issues for our farm. These are the best answers to those issues we’ve come up with over our 60+ year history.

For more information on Integrated Pest Management, please visit the Penn State Agricultural Extension website or the EPA's informational site.