Chautauqua Grown Features Yerico Farms

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (August 4, 2022) -- Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s Agriculture Program is excited to feature Yerico Farm, a well-known local produce stand, greenhouse, and Christmas tree farm that offers a variety of products in Dunkirk, NY, as a featured farm listed on the Chautauqua Grown directory. Chautauqua Grown is your source for all things local foods in Chautauqua County, including a directory of farms, restaurants, farmers markets, wineries, and much more, and is available online by visiting www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua.

I am sure many locals are familiar with Yerico Farms located at 3186 E Main St, Dunkirk, NY 14048. This farm features twenty acres of grapes and forty more acres that are used in a rotation for fruits and vegetables. They also have a beautiful greenhouse that you can find filled with flowers, vegetable, and fruit plants in the spring, mums in the fall, and Christmas trees and wreaths in the winter! Behind the greenhouses, you will find several high tunnels filled with tomato plants which are picked fresh from the vine to be sold at the stand.

Yerico Farms is owned and operated by John Yerico Sr and his wife Colleen Yerico with their son Derek Yerico. Derek recalls the early days of his life on the farm helping his father out with cultivating and sweeping. In 2009 he says he needed to take on a larger role and today he is running the operation with help from his parents. The farm has been in operation since his grandfather opened it in the early 1900’s and has been in operation for over fifty years. The farm has seen many changes through the years, continues to adapt to new trends and techniques which is how they stay so successful.

“Our produce is literally seed to table” says Derek Yerico. Yerico says that all their plants in the field are either started from seed in the field or grown in their greenhouse alongside of the vegetables available to customers. In the past they have tried purchasing plants from elsewhere that were not started on the farm, and it proved to be more difficult because of plant size and hardiness in our climate. The employees on the farm are mostly family due to keeping the business in the family and recent labor issues that a lot of local businesses are currently facing.

The recent labor issues have really sparked some innovative ideas for Derek. He is working daily to create procedures that are innovative, efficient, and provide self-reliance in all stages of the operation from planting seeds and plants, maintaining weed control, and ensuring plants in fields are receiving enough water in the rather dry growing season. Their newest equipment addition is a weed sprayer that allows Derek to weed spray roughly five acres in two hours by himself, where before they had to hand spray and weed whack. All these innovations and additions are to ensure prices for the customers can stay as low as possible.

You can visit the Yerico Farm stand in Dunkirk to purchase your farm fresh, locally grown produce items from 9am – 7pm. Be sure to go back in the fall for some mums and around Christmas time for trees and wreaths. To learn more about Yerico and their products available, visit their profile on Chautauqua Grown at https://chautauqua.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua-grown/yerico-farms or give them a call at 716-673-1271.

For more information about Chautauqua Grown, visit www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua, or contact Cassandra Skal, Agriculture Program Coordinator, at 716-664-9502 ext. 202 or cks83@cornell.edu

The Agricultural Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a subordinate governmental agency with an educational mission that operates under a form of organization and administration approved by Cornell University as agent for the State of New York. It is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The association is part of the national cooperative extension system, an educational partnership between County, State, and Federal governments. As New York’s land grant university Cornell administers the system in this state. Each Cornell Cooperative Extension association is an independent employer that is governed by an elected Board of Directors with general oversight from Cornell. All associations work to meet the needs of the counties in which they are located as well as state and national goals. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated August 4, 2022