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Published on 11/24/08

Fruit and vegetable meeting set for Jan. 9-11

University of Georgia

The Southeastern Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference will be Jan. 9 -11 in Savannah, Ga. Sponsored by the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and South Carolina Peach Conference, it offers classes and demonstrations designed to bring relevant information to the fruit and vegetable industry.

“This year’s educational program is outstanding,” said Beth Bland, GFVA education program coordinator. “Featuring everything from methyl bromide updates to blackberry fundamentals for new growers, the 2009 conference offers something for everyone.”

Friday and Saturday, there will be sessions for commodities like peach, vegetable, Vidalia onion, watermelon, muscadine, pecan, blueberry and strawberry. There will be sessions for organic production, food safety and roadside markets, too.

Sparked by the tomato safety scare in 2008, a special food-safety forum will take place Friday and feature several speakers including Tom Stenzel, the president of United Fresh Produce Association, Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Commission, and Washington legislative representatives.

Congressman Jack Kingston (R -GA) will speak Saturday morning at the general session.

The conference includes a trade show with 180 booths, a spouse program and an industry roundtable to discuss issues of mutual concern to growers and suppliers.

Continuing education credits for pesticide application license will be available.

For more information, call (800) 453-3070 or send an e-mail to chall@asginfo.net .

Faith Peppers is the director of public affairs with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Charles Hall
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