Like in any business, farmers who embrace advances in technology are likely to stay ahead of their competitors. A Wayne County apple grower is using her IT background to help other growers become more efficient.

With the fall, comes the harvest, and a season of hard work and long hours.

"There's a ton of work that goes into running an operation like this," said Jamie Sonneville, a fifth generation apple farmer.  

The 320-acre operation she runs with her husband runs much different than in past generations.

"Each picker had a piece of chalk and they would write their number on a board," she said, referring to the old way of keeping track of the amount of apples picked by workers.

Now apple picking has gone high tech. Sonneville has created an application called AgriTrak, a device that helps to keep track of everything from production to spraying records to time cards.

"I’ve always been in an IT world have had a career in IT for years," she said. "And, about 10 years ago my husband said, you know, the paperwork is getting to become really difficult. It'd be really great if you could build an app."

AgriTrak has been on the market for just over a year. Sonneville worked with the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Venture Creations business incubator to help develop and market AgriTrak. She says feedback from other apple growers who use it has been overwhelmingly positive.

"As a farm manager and owner, it’s really powerful be able to see up to the minute data on what your employees are doing, when, and where," she said.

Sonneville says the tool is a big help to growers who use guest workers from the federal H2A program, and it’s strict labor guidelines.

"Most farms, when they face a Department of Labor audit, they provide shoe boxes of paper. It can take hours and hours and hours, if not weeks, to complete an audit," she said.

Sonneville sees all sorts of possibilities for AgriTrak. She says the device will expand beyond just apple orchards, to farmers who grow row crops, onions, and other produce.

In the orchard, nothing can replace old fashioned labor, but embracing technology makes the whole operation more efficient.

"It's kind of exciting for me," said Sonneville. "And it's really exciting to see where it's going, because it's happening very quickly," she said.