100 Years of Red Onions, Big Iron, and More at Sorbello and Sons

By Thomas Skernivitz|Updated: November 04, 2024

The Sorbello family has been growing onions in Fulton, NY, since 1923. Having celebrated their 100th anniversary last year, the Sorbellos — third-generation twin brothers David and Dana, their wives Alexandra and Liz, and Dylan and Rane, the sons of David and Alexandra — are not slowing down. Located near Lake Ontario, on the Oswego River, the farm — formally named Sorbello and Sons in 1988 — benefits from the muck soil left behind from the receding waters that formed Lake Ontario after the Ice Age. Equipment, some of which is highlighted in the slideshow below, plays a significant role on the farm.

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Farming family 100+ years strong at Sorbello and Sons in Fulton, NY.

Photo courtesy of Sorbello and Sons
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Excavator (Caterpillar)

David Sorbello: “Our CAT excavator is one of the most important pieces of equipment on any farm for land maintenance. On our muck farm, we have a lot of ditches, so it gets a lot of work done.”

Cat.com

Photo courtesy of Sorbello and Sons
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38 Series spading machine (Imants)

David Sorbello: “We have used an Imants Spader for the last few years. It achieves in one pass what was formerly done in six passes. This tool saves much time and fuel, reduces compaction and our carbon footprint, and best of all creates excellent soil conditions for planting.”

Imants.com

Photo courtesy of Sorbello and Sons
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Onion harvester (Lee Shuknecht & Sons)

Dana Sorbello: “We have two onion harvesters that were manufactured locally by Lee Shuknecht and Sons. These two machines lift our whole onion crop — that we worked toward our whole growing season — off the ground!”

Shuknecht.com

Photo courtesy of Sorbello and Sons
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Caretaker mobile vegetable grader (Tong Engineering)

Dylan Sorbello: “A Caretaker is built by Tong in England to be used for root crops. This is the second year we have used this tailor-made piece of equipment. It is an integral part of the onion harvest process. This machine gently cleans dirt off the onions while also filtering out debris and rocks, a necessary step before the onions are put in boxes for curing and winter storage.” 

TongEngineering.com

Photo courtesy of Sorbello and Sons
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Trencher (Vermeer)

Rane Sorbello: “Our Vermeer trencher is the oldest piece of equipment on our farm but affords us the most ROI. Drainage is our No. 1 key to success.”

Vermeer.com

Photo courtesy of Sorbello and Sons

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Excavator (Caterpillar)

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38 Series spading machine (Imants)

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Onion harvester (Lee Shuknecht & Sons)

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Caretaker mobile vegetable grader (Tong Engineering)

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Trencher (Vermeer)

The operation has expanded to 65,000 square feet of onion storage and packing facility to handle 362 acres of onions, the majority of which are yellow and 20% red. All the onions are stored in 20-bushel wooden boxes and are available from Sept. 1 through April 15. In addition, 400 acres of corn and soybeans are grown at Sorbello and Sons.

The family recently made several major investments: new processing machinery that will help improve harvest efficiency and end product; new tillage equipment that will augment growing conditions and fortify muck soil health, making crop rotation possible; 350 acres planted in cover crop rotation to sequester carbon, nitrogen, and mitigate erosion; and technological installations on tractors and equipment that will provide valuable analytics and reduce the operation’s carbon footprint, inputs, and wasteful overlaps.

One of the fourth-generation Sorbellos, Dylan, manages a YouTube site, “Off the Muck“, that boasts more than 1,500 followers and 157 weekly videos going into October.

Click here to see more installments of American Vegetable Grower’s “Kick the Tires” series.