MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference and Trade Show will be held this December 12, 13, and 14 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH and will include 32 educational sessions over 3 days, covering major vegetable, berry and tree fruit crops, as well as various special topics, such as hard cider and cut flower production. Popular ‘Farmer-to-Farmer’ information-sharing sessions after each morning and afternoon session bring speakers and farmers together for informal, in-depth discussions on timely issues of interest to growers. There will also be an extensive Trade Show with over 120 exhibitors that is open throughout the conference, a poster session featuring student researchers, and social mixers to help facilitate meeting fellow growers.
The featured speaker on the evening of the 12th will be Andrea Sylvian from the EPA, who will offer a worker protection standard (WPS) training.
The 3-day educational program offers 5 or 6 concurrent sessions each morning and afternoon: Tuesday, December 12 features sessions on tree fruit, cover crops, specialty vegetable crops, strawberries, root crops, winter growing, wildlife management, sweet corn, cucurbits, and more; Wednesday, December 13 sessions are on stone fruit, mechanical weed control, Brassica and leafy greens, bramble production, wine grapes, soil health, hard cider, organic production, and more; sessions on Thursday, December 14 include blueberries, farm business metrics, high tunnel production, nutrient management, potatoes, blueberries, farm decisions, water and irrigation management, infrastructure design, and tomatoes.
The steering committee gathers the best speakers from within our region and across the country to let you know about the latest innovations and advances in local fruit and vegetable production and sales. We hope that you will enjoy your time here, and meet with fellow growers, advisors, researchers, and industry representatives. We want you to leave with new ideas and new information that will have a positive impact on your farm.
Pre-registration to attend any part or all of the conference or trade show is $115 for the first member of the farm or business and $85 for each additional member (family or employee) when pre-registered with first member. The pre-registration fee for students (high school or college) is $50 each, when preregistered by the instructor. Pre-registration must be received by November 30, 2017. There is an additional fee of $30 per person ($20 students) for late registration or walk-ins.
Hotel registration is separate, but conference rates apply if you provide the code “NEVB17”.
Additional information on the New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference, including on-line and downloadable registration material, may be found at http://www.newenglandvfc.org/.
The event is Sponsored by the New England Vegetable & Berry Growers’ Association and the
Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association in conjunction with the Universities of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as Cornell University, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station – in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
–Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
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