A partnership between Cornell and fruit and vegetable growers in the Hudson Valley.
Cornell’s Hudson Valley Research Laboratory (CHVRL), located in Highland, New York, is a public-private partnership between Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and local fruit and vegetable farmer members of the nonprofit Farmer’s Alliance for Research and Management (FARM). For nearly 100 years, CHVRL specialists have worked alongside scientists from CALS to advance fruit and vegetable production systems by evaluating varieties, fine-tuning crop management practices, and evaluating pest management technologies. Work at CHRVL today remains farmer-driven and focused on timely, relevant research and technological innovations.
HVRL scientists draw on the full breadth of Cornell resources to tailor solutions for farmers facing climate change and rapid suburbanization — developing solutions for sustainability; disease and pest control; organic production; and the region’s growing wine and hard cider industry.
Horticulture, Plant Pathology and Disease Management, Entomology and Integrated Pest Management
One of New York state’s oldest and richest agricultural areas.
Regional agricultural Cornell Cooperative Extension program serving a multi-county area in the Champlain Valley, Capital Region and Hudson Valley.
Our Facility
CHVRL is an agricultural research and extension station made possible by a unique public-private partnership between regional farmers, Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and Cornell AgriTech. It was established in 1923 to serve Cornell’s land-grant mission by applying scientific research to practical improvements for growers of horticultural crops in the Hudson River Valley. By 1942, the lab had moved to three different locations; that year, local farmers formed a nonprofit to support the search for appropriate facilities. Today, that organization — the Farmer’s Alliance for Research and Management (FARM) — remains a major stakeholder in HVRL’s work and 7,000 square-foot laboratory.
The 20-acre research farm currently grows 25-30 apple varieties, European red wine grape varieties Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir; pears, peaches; and sweet cherries. The facility, farm, and research staff are supported by Cornell AgriTech, and the location also provides office space for extension specialists with Ulster County Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), CCE’s Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program (ENYCHP), and NYS Integrated Pest Management.
Our Experts
Regional Tree Fruit Specialist
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Hudson Valley Research Laboratory
Daniel Donahue
- (518) 322-7812
- djd13 [at] cornell.edu
Start-up tree fruit farms
Practical problem-solving
Horticultural and post-harvest issues
Ken Wise
- (845) 677-8223
- klw24 [at] cornell.edu
Christopher Meredith
Senior Field Coordinator
Cornell AgriTech
Hudson Valley Research Laboratory
School of Integrative Plant Science
Christopher Meredith
- (845) 691-7151
- cm874 [at] cornell.edu
Margaret Kent
Administrative Assistant IV
Cornell AgriTech
Margaret Kent
- (845) 691-7151
- mlk246 [at] cornell.edu
Carlos Andres Antolinez Delgado
Senior Research Associate
Geneva Entomology
Carlos Andres Antolinez Delgado
- caa245 [at] cornell.edu
Jared Buono
- jb2559 [at] cornell.edu
