ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Upper Midwest Regional Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference and Pre-Conference Workshops to be held at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud from January 17 through January 19, 2018.
The 2018 Upper Midwest Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference will benefit all commercial fruit and vegetable growers – those who are well established, new growers and those thinking about commercial horticultural production. In addition to over 70 outstanding educational opportunities, a variety of vendors will showcase their products and services at the Trade Show. This conference is an educational highlight of the year for commercial fruit and vegetable producers in the Upper Midwest.
Highlights of some sessions Include:
- Nate Nourse, formerly of Nourse Farms, will present talks on advances in strawberry, raspberry, and rhubarb production and other topics.
- Cary Rivard, Associate Professor, Extension Specialist & Director of Kansas State Research & Extension Center, will share his research and experiences on high tunnel production.
- Dan Kuhn from Courtland, Kansas, will bring us information on watermelon and cantaloupe production.
- Dr. Kenneth Blumenfeld, Senior Climatologist, Minnesota State Climate Office, will talk about weather changes, hail storms, floods, high winds, etc., that are impacting farmers today.
- Carter Kent from Bio-Works will speak about controlling insects and diseases with biocontrol agents instead of pesticides.
- Maple syrup production.
- Flower production.
- High tunnel production.
- And more! Area growers, University of Minnesota Extension specialists, and other regional experts will be presenting in addition to those listed above as well.
Pre-Conference Workshops will be held on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at the St. Cloud River’s Edge Convention Center. Be sure to look over the conference agenda and registration forms as start and end times differ among sessions. There are five sessions for the pre-conference workshops:
- Farm Safety Modernization Act
- Beginning grower and review strawberry sessions, and Advances in strawberry and blueberry production
- Beginning grape production and winemaking
- Cottage food training
- Private pesticide training for fruit and vegetable production for license renewal or general information.
For additional information on the conference and to register, contact the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association online at www.mfvga.org. You can register and pay online.
The educational conference and workshops are sponsored by the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association in cooperation with University of Minnesota Extension, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program. These agencies are equal opportunity providers.
— University of Minnesota Extension
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