Dr. Blizzard is responsible for directing overall farming operations.  He is a native West Virginian and a fifth-generation apple grower.  In 1974, upon receiving a Ph.D. in plant pathology and horticulture, he was made assistant director and research coordinator for the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences at West Virginia University where he served for nearly 20 years. Since 1974, he has traveled and studied extensively and exchanged ideas in many fruit producing areas of the world such as Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Canada, South Africa, England, Spain, France, Israel, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Japan, Brazil, Mexico and China.

Dr. Blizzard is considered one of the top U.S. authorities on trellised apple and peach systems.  In demand as a national and international speaker and consultant, he has had an opportunity to speak to nearly every horticultural society in the U.S. and Canada.

Before coming to California in February 1995, Dr. Blizzard served for eight years as president of Texas Hill Country Orchards where he established approximately 720 acres of high-density trellised orchards in Kerr County, Texas. Prior to joining The Lagomarsino Group as general manager, he served as head horticulturist for Logoluso Farms of Madera, California, with established tree fruit operations in Madera, Panoche and a new apple planting in the Cuyama Valley. Dr. Blizzard was responsible for overseeing cultural practices for nearly 2,000 acres of apple plantings. He is past president of the International Dwarf Fruit Tree Association (IDFTA), one of the largest grower orientated organizations in the world. Currently he serves as chairman of the California Apple Commission.

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