BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Attention fruit, vegetable and farm market producers: the Southwest Michigan Horticultural Days, our annual trade show and education event, is happening Feb. 7-8, 2018, at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
We’re especially excited about the educational program. Bee experts from Michigan State University will be talking about pollinator conservation on your farm. Jeff Andresen, agriculture climatologist, will be going over what we do and don’t know about climate change, and what fruit and vegetable producers might expect going forward. We’ll also have a chance to get questions answered about the H2A worker program.
We’re also trying something new this year: we’re adding a full session on direct marketing of fruits and vegetables. Anyone running a farm stand or attending a farm market will benefit from this strategic session.
In wine grapes, we’ll be getting into the details on fine-tuning canopy management and winemaking practices. The focus will be on color stability in red wines. We will also have a discussion on what climate change will mean for wine grapes in particular. At the end of the session, we’ll get a chance to taste wines made from new Minnesota grape varieties.
Pre-registration forms have already been mailed to previous attendees, but you can register now by printing out and mailing in the registration form. You can also register at the door on the day of the event, though the cost is higher. For more information, contact Renee Tinkey at 269-944-1477 or Brad Baughman at 269-927-5674 x4012.
Download the registration form. It also includes the full schedule and registration information.
Booth registration is still open. Call Allen Zelmer at 269-870-5265 for information on booths.
— Brad Baughman, Michigan State University Extension
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