MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference and Trade Show will be held this December 13-15th at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown in Manchester, NH and will include 30 educational sessions over 3 days, covering major vegetable, berry and tree fruit crops, as well as various special topics, such as cut flower production, leafy greens, mushroom cultivation and farm business management. Popular ‘Farmer-to-Farmer’ information-sharing sessions 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 3-day educational program offers 5 concurrent sessions each morning and afternoon:Â Tuesday, December 13 features sessions on apples and stone fruit, sweet corn, strawberries, cut flowers, equipment, cucurbits, organic growing, technology and more; Wednesday, December 14 sessions are on leafy greens and specialty vegetables, brambles, apples, cover crops and no-till, food safety and the food safety modernization act, brassicas and legumes, specialty berries, mushrooms, potatoes, and more; sessions on Thursday, December 15 include blueberries, tomatoes, winter growing, agriculture tourism, grapes, alliums and roots, high tunnels, improving farm business efficiency. There is a special session WPS train-the-trainer certification, and 15 farmer-to-farmer sessions.
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 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, students will need to show student ID when picking up the registration packet. Pre-registration must be received by November 29, 2022. There is an additional fee of $30 per person ($20 for students) for regular registration between November 29 and December 11. A late fee of $15 will be added to all registrations submitted after December 11, including walk-ins. Overnight accommodations at the Doubletree are $132/night and can be booked by calling 603-625-1000 and mentioning this event or by visiting https://newenglandvfc.org/accommodation/. In addition to the conference hotel, there are several local options for accommodations listed on our website. Direct online booking with discounted rates is found on our website, along with phone numbers if you prefer to book over the phone. For persons needing physical, language, or financial assistance, please contact Olivia Saunders at 603-447-3834 at least 3 weeks prior to the event, and we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate.
Additional information on the New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference, including on-line and downloadable registration material, may be found at https://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.
Contact : Registration – Shuresh Ghimire, UConn; 959-929-1031; shuresh.ghimire@uconn.edu
General questions – Sue Scheufele, UMass 508-397-3361; sscheufele@umext.umass.edu
Trade Show: Brian Aldrich 781-999-0932 NEVFCtradeshow@gmail.com
–The New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference and Trade Show