The Dressel Family Business
Dressel Farms is a family-owned and operated business located in the scenic Hudson Valley in New York. Fred Dressel originally bought the farm in 1957 from after being its foreman for more than 25 years. Together with his son Roderick, he improved and grew the farm to what we know it as today. Eventually, Rod's son (Rod Jr.) returned to the farm after graduating from Cornell University and assumed a major role in the business.
Today, the farm is being run by 3 active generations of Dressels including Rod Sr, Rod Jr, his wife Debbie and their children Tim and Sarah- both recent Cornell graduates themselves. This dynamic has allowed Dressel Farms to maintain its family farm traditions while staying current with new trends in agriculture, business, and technology.
Dressel Apples
Dressel Farms' main business is apples, growing over 300 acres of apple trees including more than 20 different varieties. While the public facade of the farm includes our year-round Roadstand and popular Pick-Your-Own weekends, the business goes far deeper than that. In addition to faithfully serving our local and "agri-tourism" customers, Dressel Farms also annually packs and ships more than 100,000 bushels (that's about 4 million pounds!) of apples to grocery stores all along the east coast as well as overseas. Cutting-edge storage technology allows us to keep our apples crisp and fresh for months after they're picked. This is how we're able to provide our customers with crunchy, delicious apples year-round.
We strive to grow the best apples possible while also being aware of the health of our customers and the environment. For these reasons, we proudly utilize an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that meets our needs as farmers while maintaining a healthy environment for ourselves, our neighbors and our customers. We are also Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Certified in fruit production which ensures that all of our produce meets strict international safety regulations.
Dressel's Fresh Cider
Our pure apple cider is made right on the farm using our authentic antique rack-and-cloth cider press. The cider is made from 100% hand-selected Dressel Farms apples with no added preservatives, colors or flavors. We use UV Light filtration to sterilize the juice making it completely safe to drink. We prefer UV treatment to heat pasteurization to better preserve the natural flavor of the juice. Fresh cider is pressed weekly throughout the year so no cider you buy from us is ever more than a week old. During the busy time in the fall we have to press daily to keep up with demand!
Strawberries, Peaches, Pumpkins, and More!
While our focus may be apples, we see the value of differentiation and want to provide our local customers with great, local produce year-round. There really isn't any downtime here at Dressel Farms. June in New Paltz means one thing- STRAWBERRIES. We're proud to be one of the largest strawberry producers in the area and a local staple. We even have Pick-Your-Own Strawberries on select days in June.
After strawberries come raspberries, blueberries and cherries. We also keep a vegetable garden to stock our roadstand with the freshest summer vegetables like zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, green beans, and more. As the summer progresses, our home-grown peaches become the focus and even before peaches are finished it's already time to start picking the first apples of the year.
In the fall, in addition to apples, we also harvest our own pears, pumpkins, squash, decorative gourds, and chestnuts.
Hard Cider
In 2011, Tim Dressel began his own business which he calls "Kettleborough Cider House," named for the area's original settlement. Since then he has been making small batches of hard cider (using only Dressel apples, obviously) and slowly expanding his operation by planting heirloom, cider-specific apple varieties and developing unique new styles of hard cider. The Kettleborough Taproom is open May through November right on the farm! For more information on Kettleborough Hard Cider, visit their webside by clicking HERE.
The Dressel Family is devoted to producing the best fruits and vegetables for our customers. We encourage you to think local and buy local. We believe agriculture is the key to keeping Upstate New York beautiful and we thank you for your support.
Today, the farm is being run by 3 active generations of Dressels including Rod Sr, Rod Jr, his wife Debbie and their children Tim and Sarah- both recent Cornell graduates themselves. This dynamic has allowed Dressel Farms to maintain its family farm traditions while staying current with new trends in agriculture, business, and technology.
Dressel Apples
Dressel Farms' main business is apples, growing over 300 acres of apple trees including more than 20 different varieties. While the public facade of the farm includes our year-round Roadstand and popular Pick-Your-Own weekends, the business goes far deeper than that. In addition to faithfully serving our local and "agri-tourism" customers, Dressel Farms also annually packs and ships more than 100,000 bushels (that's about 4 million pounds!) of apples to grocery stores all along the east coast as well as overseas. Cutting-edge storage technology allows us to keep our apples crisp and fresh for months after they're picked. This is how we're able to provide our customers with crunchy, delicious apples year-round.
We strive to grow the best apples possible while also being aware of the health of our customers and the environment. For these reasons, we proudly utilize an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that meets our needs as farmers while maintaining a healthy environment for ourselves, our neighbors and our customers. We are also Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Certified in fruit production which ensures that all of our produce meets strict international safety regulations.
Dressel's Fresh Cider
Our pure apple cider is made right on the farm using our authentic antique rack-and-cloth cider press. The cider is made from 100% hand-selected Dressel Farms apples with no added preservatives, colors or flavors. We use UV Light filtration to sterilize the juice making it completely safe to drink. We prefer UV treatment to heat pasteurization to better preserve the natural flavor of the juice. Fresh cider is pressed weekly throughout the year so no cider you buy from us is ever more than a week old. During the busy time in the fall we have to press daily to keep up with demand!
Strawberries, Peaches, Pumpkins, and More!
While our focus may be apples, we see the value of differentiation and want to provide our local customers with great, local produce year-round. There really isn't any downtime here at Dressel Farms. June in New Paltz means one thing- STRAWBERRIES. We're proud to be one of the largest strawberry producers in the area and a local staple. We even have Pick-Your-Own Strawberries on select days in June.
After strawberries come raspberries, blueberries and cherries. We also keep a vegetable garden to stock our roadstand with the freshest summer vegetables like zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, green beans, and more. As the summer progresses, our home-grown peaches become the focus and even before peaches are finished it's already time to start picking the first apples of the year.
In the fall, in addition to apples, we also harvest our own pears, pumpkins, squash, decorative gourds, and chestnuts.
Hard Cider
In 2011, Tim Dressel began his own business which he calls "Kettleborough Cider House," named for the area's original settlement. Since then he has been making small batches of hard cider (using only Dressel apples, obviously) and slowly expanding his operation by planting heirloom, cider-specific apple varieties and developing unique new styles of hard cider. The Kettleborough Taproom is open May through November right on the farm! For more information on Kettleborough Hard Cider, visit their webside by clicking HERE.
The Dressel Family is devoted to producing the best fruits and vegetables for our customers. We encourage you to think local and buy local. We believe agriculture is the key to keeping Upstate New York beautiful and we thank you for your support.