Make Plans Now for the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention
October 27, 2022 Event organizers are gearing up for 2023 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, slated to be held Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA. Normally more than 2,200 fruit, vegetable, berry growers as well as other industry personnel from throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond gather each year for what has become one of the premier grower meetings on the East Coast.
The 2023 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention will be the 46th annual gathering.
Here’s what to expect:
Michael Kilpatrick will be this year’s keynote speaker. Kilpatrick is a farmer, presenter, host, inventor, and online entrepreneur who lives to help entrepreneurs apply business principles and practical, proven solutions to grow their businesses and simplify their lives. His keynote topic will be “Thriving in Uncertain Times.” He is the owner of Growing Farmers, an online farmer education platform, host of the top-rated Thriving Farmer Podcast; and host of the Thriving Farmer Summit series, which has been viewed by over a quarter million farmers. He has managed large farms and businesses, consulted for industry experts worldwide, and spoken at dozens of conferences.
Plans are being made to offer exceptional educational sessions on a full range of topics in tree fruit, vegetable, small fruit, and potato production plus retail and wholesale marketing. Greenhouse ornamental and cut flower sessions plus sessions on urban agriculture will be included as well. Also offered will be special sessions presented in Spanish for Spanish-speaking industry members. A more detailed schedule with topics and speakers will be announced soon.
The day before the main Convention opens, growers can choose between a bus tour of horticultural businesses in the Adams County area or several different workshops. The workshops include Greenhouse Vegetables, Fruit Tree Pruning; Soil Fertility and Health, Managing a Profitable Farm Market Bakery, Farm Transition, FSMA Grower Training, Spotted Lanternfly Permit Training, and Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator License Training. The bus tour will be visiting Hollabaugh Brothers farm market, Musselman’s Greenhouse, Rice Fruit Co., and Adams County Nursery with lunch at Hickory Bridge Farm.
On the opening day of the Convention, besides a keynote presentation, there will be production sessions on High Tunnels, Tree Fruit, General Vegetables, Soil Health/Cover Crops, Urban Agriculture, Snap Beans, Garlic, Phytophthora Management, and Biocontrols; plus marketing sessions on Farm Market Staff Training, Achieving Success at Farmers’ Markets, and Wholesale Marketing.
Sessions on the second day include Tomatoes, Tree Fruit, Stone Fruit, Basic Vegetable Production, Greenhouse Ornamentals, Small Fruit, and Organic Vegetable Production plus Marketing 101 and Diversification in Agritourism marketing sessions and two Labor/Farm Management sessions, one of which will focus on using H-2A workers. Also offered will be the session “Técnicas de Producción de Frutas y Hortalizas” especially for Spanish speaking workersin the fruit and vegetable industries. It will feature various relevant production presentations in Spanish. An evening discussion session will focus on Commercializing Your Ideas.
On the final day of the Convention, sessions on Tree Fruit, Stone Fruit, Small Fruit, Sweet Corn, Pumpkins, Potatoes, General Vegetables, Cut Flowers, Pollinators, Equipment Technology, Growing and Marketing High Value Niche Crops for Direct Marketing and Digital and Social Media Marketing will be featured.
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 since 1978. In 2014, the Virginia State Horticultural Society also began meeting at the Convention. Extension personnel from Penn State, University of Maryland, Rutgers and Virginia Tech all assist in organizing the three days of educational sessions.
For more information, visit mafvc.org.
Subscribe Today For
