Our History
Please take a moment to read our History page. You will come to understand our family business very well and see just how dedicated we are to suppling the best service and quality products.The History and Background of Cahoon Farms
Donald Cahoon Sr. purchased the original 100-acre home farm in 1943 located in western New York State, near Lake Ontario, just outside the small village of Wolcott. It is situated on some of the best fruit growing property in the world. Donald Sr. was a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in agriculture. With his wife Marjorie, they raised 10 children on the homestead. The farm.s original products were general agriculture. Donald Sr. soon decided to focus on growing only fruit. He eventually realized that in order to obtain the best return for his fruit, he needed to market his fruit in processed form to area bakeries. He then set out traveling upstate New York in his panel truck delivering to bakeries, while Marjorie took care of the books and those 10 kids.
In the early 1960.s, Mrs. Smith bakery was rapidly expanding their apple pie sales and was searching for a company that could supply processed apples. Cahoon Farms small processing plant was selected and a long-standing relationship was created. Cahoon farms produced apples and later red sour pitted (RSP) cherries for Mrs. Smith Bakeries.
Today, Cahoon farms is owned and operated by the five Cahoon Sons and some third generation grandkids. The five sons are involved in the day to day operations and planning for the organization. Bill is vice-president and oversees plant and equipment fabrication: Bob oversees the orchard management and harvesting: Donald Jr. (Duane) is President and CEO, he oversees operations and planning, to include IT programming; Jim is operations manager at the fresh fruit packing operation of which Cahoon Farms is a member/owner; Joe is production manager for the processing and plant operations.
Today Cahoon Farms still provides frozen and fresh apple slices to bakeries across the United States and Canada. We have also expanded to provide bulk apple juice and vinegar, along with adding a dry house operation to provide the food service and pet food market.
Donald Sr..s single panel truck traversing over New York state has made way for the many semi-tracker trailers delivering our products across the United States and Canada. We are still family owned with many key and long-term employees. As a company, we are continually looking to improve our quality products and service while keeping up with the ever changing requirements to meet the needs of our customers and the marketplace.