New England FruitConsultants
About New England Fruit Consultants
History
New England Fruit Consultants grew out of one of the original United States Department of Agriculture-funded Integrated Pest Management projects, cited at several universities throughout the United States during the 1970’s. Glenn Morin, Entomologist, and Robin Spitko, Plant Pathologist, both worked for the Apple IPM project at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, under the direction of Dr. Ronald Prokopy. Upon completion of the federal grant, Morin and Spitko founded New England Fruit Consultants in 1982. In 2012, NEFCON added an additional member, Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) Rafael (Andy) Vega. Andy joined NEFCON after interning with them as a doctoral student from the University of Florida.
Team Members
Experience
In addition to crop production consulting, NEFCON provides project management, efficacy research and product-development services to both domestic and international agricultural chemical industries. Cooperative projects with universities, grant writing, consultation on regulatory and registration issues, seminars, workshops, and expert witness testimony are additional activities and services that are currently offered.
NEFCON maintains an orchard research facility located in Shelburne, Massachusetts, with
easy excess via several major highway systems. A full range of trials for tree fruits are
offered,from early-development screening studies to post-registration demonstration plots
including hand-gun applications to single tree plots and/or airblast applications to large
plots. Evaluation of product performance, efficacy and other parameters of insecticides,
fungicides, bactericides, (specializing in fire blight research), herbicides, growth regulators
and post-harvest control materials can be provided.
NEFCON personnel have represented growers and others in the tree fruit industry on several USDA and EPA advisory committees, state and regional IPM steering committees and have served on the Executive Board of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC). Dr. Robin Spitko chaired the NAICC Legislative Advisory Committee for a total of seven years and is, consequently, well known in agricultural circles in Washington, DC.
NEFCON Orchards
New England Fruit Consultants (NEFCON) is a certified independent agricultural consulting
firm founded in 1982. NEFCON contracts with commercial fruit-growing operations throughout
the Northeast to provide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) information and recommendations
pertinent to all aspects of tree fruit production. NEFCON currently directs IPM programs for
thousands of acres of apples, peaches and pears throughout the region.
NEFCON has clients throughout the Northeast including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York's Hudson Valley and Vermont
Certifications and Credentials
National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants Cerfified Professional Independent Crop Consultants.
Licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resourcesfor Category 49, Research and Demonstration.”