The 2017 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention will be held January 31 to February 2, 2017, at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Over 2,100 fruit, vegetable, and berry growers and other industry persons from throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond are expected to attend. This year’s convention will again feature several pre-convention workshops, a farm market bus tour, and a trade show with over 160 exhibitors plus three full days of seven or more concurrent educational sessions. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Jay Lehr, agricultural economist and futurist.
An economist and futurist, Dr. Lehr has five decades of experience in Agricultural Economics, Agronomy, Environmental Science and Business Administration. He received a degree in geological engineering from Princeton and he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in a combined program of environmental science and agricultural economics. He will be discussing how Mid-Atlantic fruit and vegetable growers can take advantage of future trends in agriculture as the climate, technology, economy and political landscape change. – more —
Dr. Lehr taught at both the University of Arizona and The Ohio State University before serving as Executive Director of the National Ground Water Association and the Association for Ground Water Scientists and Engineers. For over 20 years, he has been Science Director of the Heartland Institute, a think tank supported by contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations.
A prolific writer, Dr. Lehr is the author of 35 books. The Handbook of Environmental Science, Health and Technology, Modern Groundwater Exploration and The Environmental Remediation Handbook are three of his most recent. He is a frequent guest on Fox’s Neil Cavuto Show.
In addition to being a brilliant environmental scholar, Dr. Lehr is an accomplished athlete and Certified Personal Trainer. He has competed in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon nine times and won the over 70 Florida Ironman in 2007. He is an avid cyclist and holds the record for the world’s longest streak of monthly skydives.; one dive every month for 34 years and 11 months. His streak was interrupted by a broken hip from a bicycle crash, but he was back to jumping the following month. He doubts that anyone is dumb enough to challenge his record.
The day before the main Convention opens, growers can chose between a bus tour of Pennsylvania farm markets or several different workshops. The workshops include FSMA Grower Training, Hands-On Apple Tree Grafting, Hops Production, Greenhouse Vegetable Production, Recall Readiness, Vegetable Grafting and Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator License Training.
The Mid-Atlantic Convention has been jointly sponsored by the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, the Maryland State Horticultural Society and the New Jersey State Horticultural Society for the past 39 years making this year’s Convention the 40th meeting. In 2014, the Virginia State Horticultural Society also began meeting at the Convention. The Pennsylvania State University, University of Maryland, Rutgers University Cooperative Extension and Virginia Tech University all assist in organizing the three days of educational sessions.
The Convention has become one of the premier grower meetings in the Northeast. The Great American Hall and the Aztec Room at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center will host the Trade Show. Specialized horticultural equipment, farm market merchandise, and packaging will all be on display along with information on the latest seed varieties, fruit varieties, pesticides and other supplies and services for the commercial grower.
Many pesticide applicator update training credits will be available to Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia growers attending the sessions. The program covers nearly every aspect of fruit, vegetable, potato and berry production. Commercial growers should not pass up this terrific educational opportunity.
Seven or eight concurrent educational sessions will be offered on all three days of the Convention. Besides a combined session for the keynote address, the opening day will feature breakout sessions on Pome Fruit, Fall Ornamentals and Vine Crops, Organic Vegetables, Broccoli, Snap Beans, Asparagus, Crucifers, Winter Storage Crops, Hydroponics, Changing Climate, Market Trends, Wholesale Marketing and Farm Business Transition.
On the second day, sessions on Marketing 101, Agritainment, Small Fruit, Tree Fruit, Stone Fruit, Sweet Corn, High Tunnels, Greenhouse Ornamentals, Wine Grapes, Cover Crops, Onions and General Vegetables will be offered. Also offered will be the session “Técnicas de Producción de Frutas y Hortalizas” especially for Spanish speaking workers in the fruit and vegetable industries. It will feature various relevant production presentations in Spanish.
The Convention will close on the third day with sessions on: Tree Fruit, Tomatoes, CSAs, Social Media and Advertising, High Tunnels, Small Fruit, Specialty Vegetables, Leafy Greens, Potatoes and Cut Flowers.
The eleventh annual Mid-Atlantic Cider Contest will be conducted during the Convention to determine the best tasting cider produced in the region. On January 31 fruit and vegetable growers will gather for the annual Fruit and Vegetable Growers Banquet which will include awards and recognitions. On February 1 there will be an Ice Cream Social in the evening.
Registration is required for all persons attending the Convention trade show or educational sessions. Registration with any of the five sponsoring organizations allows one to attend any of the sessions although there are additional charges for some workshops and meals. For further information, go to www.mafvc.org or call 717-677-4184 or 717-694-3596.
Source: Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention
