The Upper Midwest Regional Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference and Trade Show will be held January 19 & 20 at the St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.

The educational events 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 outstanding educational opportunities, a variety of vendors will showcase their products and the Trade Show.  This conference is an educational highlight of the year for commercial fruits and vegetable producers in the Upper Midwest.

If you grow fruits and vegetables, plan to attend this conference.  Educational sessions will focus on berry production, specialty crops, pumpkins and vine crops, and tree fruits.  High tunnel production, business management, pest management and a variety of marketing opportunities will also be discussed.  Area growers are on the program along with specialists from the University of Minnesota Extension and other regional experts.

Two Beginning Grower Workshops will be held on Wednesday, January 18 at the St. Cloud River's' Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.  These workshops are designed for people thinking about starting a commercial vegetable or small fruit operation.  The Beginning Grower Workshops will help growers learn to identify a variety of potential problems and learn options and methods to control these problems and help minimize the potential for economic loss.

Two other workshops will also be held on Wednesday, January 18 at the St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.  One will focus on Community Supported Agriculture and things to consider when starting a CSA as well as ways to expand and improve existing CSAs.  The other will focus on Food Safety and Good Agricultural Practices.  Minimizing potential problems is good for business and developing and implementing a food safety plan helps minimize potential problems.  The Food Safety workshop will give an overview of Good Agricultural Practices and produces will have the opportunity to start working on their own customized safety plans.

The educational conference and workshops are sponsored by the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association in cooperation with the University of Minnesota Extension, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the USDA-Risk Management Agency.  These agencies are equal opportunity providers.

For additional information, contact the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association at 763-434-0400, your local extension office, or visit www.mfvga.org. A limited number of scholarships are available. Contact the MFVGA office at 763-434-0400 for a scholarship application.

Source: U-M Extension