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 Rulloff Dubois' widow after being its foreman for more than 15 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.

This year also marks the 10th Anniversary of opening our Ice Cream stand!  Deb, with a little help from her daughters Sarah and Elizabeth, has been vigilant to make her venture a success and a new favorite spot among locals and visitors alike.  For more information about the Ice Cream stand, click here.

Dressel Apples

Dressel Farms' main business is apples, growing over 275 acres of apple trees including some 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 around 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 the best 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 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 Certified in food production which ensures that all of our produce meets strict 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.  It's 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.  We press fresh cider 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 the largest strawberry producer in the area and a local staple.  We also do Pick-Your-Own Strawberries on select evenings and weekend in June.

After Strawberries come Raspberries, Blueberries and Cherries.  We also keep a small garden to stock our roadstand with the freshest summer vegetables as well as growing our very own sweet corn.  As the summer progresses, Peaches become the focus and as soon as peaches are finished it's already time to start picking the first apples. 

In the fall, in addition to apples, we also grow our own pumpkins, squash, decorative gourds, and Chinese Chestnuts.  For more information about our fall harvest and Pick-Your-Own, click 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.

Questions?  Please email us at dresselapples@gmail.com