Several specialty education workshops, including Organic Production, Food Safety and Roadside Markets have been planned for the SE Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Each workshop will feature renowned speakers from across the country that specializes in their individual fields. Scheduled for January 6 – 9, 2011 the four-day event, sponsored by the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the South Carolina Peach Council, also offers other informative workshops, classes and demonstrations designed to bring the most up-to-date and relevant information to the fruit and vegetable industry.
The Organic Production Conference will be held on Friday, January 7, 2011. Session I, Organic Production, covers managing diseases in organic blueberries, fertility management in organic production as well as opportunities and challenges in heirloom tomato production. Speakers include Dr. Annemiek Schilder from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, Julia Gaskin from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, and Dr. Jeanine Davis from North Carolina State University, Fletcher, NC. Organic Session II, Efficient Practices to Increase Profitability, covers solutions and tips for improved labor efficiency as well as farmer tips on improving machinery efficiency. Session III covers insect pest management and features speaker Powell Smith from Clemson University, Lexington, SC. Session IV, Marketing, will cover topics such as trends and opportunities in the organic market, farm box delivery programs, and market opportunities in the wholesale and institutional markets. Speakers include Jonathan Tescher of Georgia Organics in Atlanta, GA, Cheryl Wilson from Fresh Point in Atlanta, GA and Matt Roher from Cha-Bella in Savannah, GA.
The Food Safety Conference will be held on both Friday and Saturday. The Georgia Food Safety GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Program helps growers meet the requirements of a third party audit, serve as a marketing tool, or help get that chain store business. This workshop fulfills the training requirements in the GAP audit. On Friday morning Dr. David Gombas, Sr. Vice President of Food Safety and Technology, United Fresh Produce Association, Washington, DC will give an FDA Regulatory update. He will also take part in a panel discussion on Traceability and PTI. Other panelists include Teri Miller, Category Manager for Food Lion, Elliot Grant, Chief Marketing Officer for HarvestMark and Mark Shuman, General Manager of Shuman Produce, Inc. Friday afternoon’s session covers food safety research and solutions. Beth Bland Oleson of The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association will give an update on GAP Audit Harmonization as well as leading discussions on applicable food safety research results for field, worker and packing facilities. Saturday afternoon’s sessions, also led by Oleson, will give overviews of the GAP and GMP programs, as well as covering corrective actions and training opportunities in the southeast during 2011.
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The final specialty workshop is Roadside Markets and will be held Friday afternoon. Topics covered include food safety concerns at retail stores and u-pick operations, advertising promotion that sells and transitioning from wholesale to a retail market. Jeff Manley, the manager of The Rock Ranch in The Rock, GA, will present on The Rock Ranch and Walt Woodard from Crown Point Capital Advisors in Watkinsville, GA will speak on funding sources – USDA rural development.
During the three-day program, over 85 additional hours of commodity specific production training, pest management information and marketing updates are offered to attendees. Commodities include peach, vegetable, Vidalia onion, watermelon, sweet corn, muscadine, blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry and pecan. Continuing education credits are available. Attendees to the educational conference receive free admission to the 2011 SE Regional Trade Show featuring over 200 vendors. The Trade Show provides attendees the opportunity to compare products, talk with industry representatives, observe demonstrations, network with other growers and learn about the latest in fresh produce technology.
Early bird registration is now open until December 15, 2010. The best value for the conference is a three-day pass for $130.00. For those only able to attend a one day of educational conferences a one day pass is also available for $40.00.
Source: SE Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference