FruitGrowerConnect Solves Growers’ Problems One On One

Connect_meeting_2015_webMore than 35 grower and supplier operations gathered at the beautiful Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego in November for a unique opportunity for their businesses: FruitGrowerConnect. This annual event brings together some of the most progressive tree fruit, grape, and nut growers in the Western U.S. with suppliers and product solutions ranging from crop protection and nutrition to irrigation and nursery stock.

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In advance of the event, each grower attendee took part in an in-depth interview to identify his or her most pressing needs and upcoming projects. Suppliers were recruited in categories that could offer solutions to those problems.

The result was two full days of private, 50-minute, decision maker-to-decision maker meetings between growers and vendors.

“At a trade show you have so many people coming around, you don’t have the time with vendors one-on-one, or if you do it’s not private. This event sets aside 50 minutes where you’re solely with a single supplier,” says Jim Jones, Director of Farming for Moonlight Companies in Reedley, CA. “That’s more beneficial than anything.”

The event provided an efficient environment for discussions, free from the day-to-day distractions on the farm. Both the growers and the vendors decided in advance who they wanted to meet with, eliminating time wasted on meetings that weren’t a good fit for each.

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“There’s a very good vetting process to set up the best possible meetings for both sides during the event,” said Mike Thurow, President of Spectrum Technologies. “[With that preparation done in advance] we get that 50 minutes of quality interaction to communicate what our solutions are to help them in the challenges they have and then determine what the next steps can be.”

“I like the format a lot more than going to a general trade show and maybe having one or two meaningful conversations. Here you can have a dozen,” agreed Lonny Smith, Senior Marketing Manager for Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers.

In addition to the private meetings, growers and vendors also had numerous opportunities during meals, receptions, and breaks throughout the day for informal discussions that also lead to solutions.

While the one-on-one meetings were the primary focus of the week, a new addition to FruitGrowerConnect over the last couple of years has been the growers-only roundtable discussion that kicks off the event. This year, the growers gathered for a “Solve My Problem” discussion. Each tossed out a short list of pressing challenges they were facing with their businesses and their peers in the room shared how they have handled similar issues in their own operations.

“The Grower Roundtable was really good,” said Jim Keller, Fieldman with Apple King in Yakima, WA. “It’s nice to see you’re not alone out there and everybody has the same problems basically and there are some unique solutions for things you haven’t thought about yet.”

The 2016 FruitGrowerConnect — which already has a number of growers registered to attend — will take place Nov. 15-18 in Park City, UT. For more information about taking part in this fall’s event, visit FruitGrowerConnect.com.

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