LAFAYETTE, N.Y. (NCC News)
It’s fall in Central New York, so it’s time to go apple picking. One orchard, however, stands above the rest in the hearts of local families and traditions sustain due to their myriad of products.
Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards, located in Lafayette, New York, is home to 300,000 apple trees where families from around the state come for the organic apples, fresh cider, distillery products and more. Ashley Finney brings her husband James and her two children Harley and James Jr. every fall.
“These traditions arise from my family and me coming when I was Harley’s age, around 3 or 4,” says Finney. “And then when she was nine months old, we came here for the first time with her grandmother.”
The Finneys have lots of essential traditions when they visit Beak and Skiff; there are heartfelt moments like Harley picking her very own apple for the first time or the picture in front of the truck at the entrance of the orchard. James has his own in particular.
“Finding 12 X cheddar cheese is hard to find, so when I come, I like to get one every year because the sharpness is so rare,” James said.
According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, the state of New York is second in apple-producing in the country.
When asked, members of the leadership team at Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards refused to comment about the apple-picking season but is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to their website, the following types of apples are available: Fortune, Northern Spy, Ida Red.
