Colorado Farm Show Includes Colorado Produce Day
December 12, 2016 The Colorado Farm Show, slated for Jan. 24-26 at Island Grove Park in Greeley, CO, will offer something for everyone in virtually any aspect of agriculture.
The show will consist of ag exhibits and equipment as well as an array of seminars.
Robert Sakat
Topics pertinent to the fruit and vegetable industry, which are part of Colorado Produce Day, slated for Jan. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. include:
- Updates from the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association will be presented by the association’s president, Robert Sakata, president of Sakata Farms in Brighton, CO.
What’s New in Vegetable Crop Research for Colorado
Mike Bartolo, Director, Colorado State University (CSU) Arkansas Valley Research Station, and Dr. Mark Uchanski, Assistant Professor, specialty crops, CSU, will talk about the latest CSU has to offer in terms of new crop protection practices and tools.
Benchmarking by Market Channel: Implications for Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers
Dawn Thilmany, Professor of Agribusiness and Agribusiness Extension Economist, CSU; and Dr. Becca Jabonski, Assistant Professor and Food Systems Extension Economics, CSU will discuss markets. The professors will talk about how the types of markets available to Colorado fruit and vegetable growers continue to change as new opportunities emerge, yet there have not been sufficient resources available to producers to evaluate the profitability of these emerging markets. The purpose of the market channel assessments is to enable farmers to more easily evaluate factors such as the price, volume, time commitment, etc. for each marketing channel. During this presentation, Thilmany and Jabonski will share preliminary results from the market channel assessments, including benchmark estimates by market channel for Colorado producer growers.Using Weather Data to Predict Irrigation Water Quality: There’s an App for thatChanna Rock, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Water Quality, at the University of Arizona, Maricopa Agricultural Center, will cover how the quality of irrigation water plays a significant role in the occurrence of outbreaks associated with fresh produce. As a result, FDA released the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule (PSR), which is a set of guidelines that specify water quality sampling requirements for indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli) and sampling frequency. This study aimed to assess and quantify factors relating to the PSR rule, including the variability of indicator bacteria and pathogens in irrigation water over time, as well as the impact of risk factors (eg. rainfall, temperature, canal size) on overall water quality. The study led to the development of a user-friendly app, titled “Ag Water” that offers sampling advice and predicts water quality in real-time based on historical data, weather information, and environmental parameters.Insurance Options for Fruit and Vegetable Growers: Crop, Product and Agritourism
Aaron Tatersall, agent with the Silveus Insurance Group, Parker, CO; Tim Renau, who is in agribusiness sales at Flood and Peterson in Greeley, CO; Kyle Bradley, General Manager of the FUSA (Farmers Union Service Association) Insurance Agency; and Tyler Kasper, Production Manager of the FUSA Insurance Agency, will focus on managing the risks of a fruit and vegetable business. Discussions will focus on what insurance can do for you to help manage the risks of crop loss, food safety recall, and on-farm activities with customers.
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