Amos Zittel & Sons, Inc.
Description
Amos Zittel & Sons consists of 2 main businesses: Fresh market vegetable production and greenhouse production.
Presently, we are producing vegetables on approximately 400 acres. These include Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red Leaf, Boston & Romaine), Strawberries, Peppers, Cabbage, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Eggplant, Squash, Brussel Sprouts and Grape Tomatoes. 95% of our produce is sold through our marketing co-op, Eden Valley Growers, founded by Amos and other farmers in the valley in 1957.
Our greenhouse operation consists of an unfinished crop of geraniums, ivy, fuchsia, vegetative spring plants liners, primarily marketed through Ball Seed Co., Eason Horticultural Resources and SHS Griffin, and a finished crop of spring annuals sold directly to WNY Garden Centers and Nurseries. We produce approximately 2 million rooted liners and grow 4 acres of finished spring crop.
Our farm uses the most innovative cultural practices including trickle irrigation, plastic mulches and integrated pest management to maximize quality and production and minimize pesticide usage and conserve water. Within our IPM program, we hire scouts to provide weekly reports that together with pest minder trap counts and other data, our managers can determine when and what we need to spray to minimize chemical usage.
In addition, our farm families feel strongly about setting up the business operation so it may be fairly and equitably passed on from one generation to the next. We have successfully welcomed the 5th generation into the business .