Meeting Features Topics For Current And Future Fruit & Vegetable Growers
Meeting Features Topics For Current And Future Fruit & Vegetable Growers
Are you looking for a new enterprise to add income to your farming operation? If so, mark your calendar for January 8 and 9, 2001. That's when the Kentucky State Horticultural Society and the Kentucky Vegetable Growers Association will host their annual winter meeting in Lexington.
Sessions will cover organic farming, field grown cut flowers, commercial fruit and vegetable production, direct and wholesale marketing, small business planning, organic farming, field-grown cut flowers, and a grape and wine short course.
"There's really something for everybody at this meeting," said John Strang, Extension horticulture specialist for the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. "Established producers will get information on new varieties and new production techniques, and producers looking to expand into new crops will be able to talk with other growers and also horticulture and marketing specialists."
Program highlights include a roundtable discussion on fruit and vegetable production, and sessions on tree fruit management, wholesale marketing issues, small fruit production, and direct marketing on the web. Producers interested in the web marketing can actually create their own web site with assistance from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.
Talks will range from entertainment farming and bacterial spot-management on peppers to high-density apple tree training and selling crafts through a farm market.
"We'll also have a trading post bulletin board for used equipment," said Strang. "If you have used equipment you'd like to sell, you can bring along a description and a price and have it posted to the board so other growers can contact you."
The grape and wine short course will cover how to start a grape operation and a roundtable discussion involving regional grower groups and winery owners. Weed control for vineyards will be a featured topic, along with update on Kentucky's Vineyard Assistance program.
Your should register now if you plan to attend this January meeting at Lexington's Holiday Inn North. Contact your county UK Cooperative Extension office, or John Strang in the UK Department of Horticulture.
