Mark your calendars for January 7 through 8, 2002 for the Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference and Trade Show. This conference includes the annual meetings of the Kentucky Vegetable Growers’ Association and the Kentucky State Horticultural Society, the Kentucky Vineyard Society’s Grape and Wine Short Course and a session for Kentucky Organic Growers. It will take place in Lexington at the Holiday Inn North.

Anyone interested in fruit or vegetable production or in marketing these crops may attend.

“Success with many fruit and vegetable crops is based on management and the ability to do things on time,” said John Strang, Extension horticulturist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. “ There are some steep learning curves to successfully grow some of these crops and many of the fruit crops require several years of growth before the first fruits form. In fact, we recommend that a producer start on a very limited scale and then gradually increase the acreage as they become more comfortable with the crop demands.”

Strang also said patience is an important virtue for successful vegetable and fruit growers. He emphasized that growing the crop is only half the challenge. Selling even, top-quality produce can be a problem if the marketing has not been lined up prior to harvest.

If someone is considering growing fruits or vegetables, or is already a commercial producer, this meeting is the place to learn about new crops, hear about the latest research results and visit with other growers that have similar interests.

The event includes two all-day meetings and most of the time there will be four concurrent sessions in progress. Sessions will include commercial fruit and vegetable production, produce marketing, greenhouse production, field grown cut flower production, organic production, a trickle irrigation workshop and an all-day grape and wine short course. On the evening of January 6, there will be a pre-conference roundtable discussion on tree fruit production. There also will be a wine tasting hosted by commercial Kentucky wineries prior to the banquet.

“We have quite a few outstanding out-of-state speakers as well as a trade show,” Strang said. Producers planning to attend should contact their county Extension office or John Strang for program and registration details.