The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference was just what the doctor ordered for growers yearning to reconnect with fellow farmers and look ahead to the upcoming season.
“We are pleased with the continued attendance for this event,” said Drew Echols, Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) president. “After our virtual event in 2021, it was encouraging to see our growers come to Savannah and start their year with more education and more resources, ready to move forward from a really hard year.”
The conference, coordinated and sponsored by GFVGA and the Georgia Peach Council, was held across three days at the Savannah Convention Center last weekend. It offered 16 different commodity and production sessions totaling more than 70 hours of education. Sessions featured specific commodities like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, citrus, muscadines, peaches, strawberries and vegetables, and also operational topics like business operations, food safety, roadside markets and organic production.
“These land-grant Extension and research state specialists work to create applicable educational conferences that address specific issues on the farm and in packing facilities,” Beth Oleson, GFVGA Director of Education and Food Safety. “Having allied organizations co-locating at SE Regional provides great opportunities to extend the educational experience for attendees outside of production and handling issues, business operations and food safety.”
Commodity session speakers included specialists and top researchers from the University of Georgia, North Carolina State University, University of Florida and several others.